American radicalized by ISIS expressed 'excitement' about traveling overseas to support terrorist group: FBI
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A North Carolina man is charged with providing material support to ISIS after he allegedly made plans to travel to Morocco in December 2024 to join the foreign terrorist organization (FTO), according to federal court documents.

Alexander Justin White, 29, of Durham, allegedly used social media — primarily Facebook and encrypted messaging apps (EMAs) — to “make posts about supporting ISIS and jihad” and communicate with other ISIS supporters about wanting to join the FTO.

In those communications, White, using the pseudonym “Sulaiman Al-Amriki,” unknowingly had online conversations with an undercover FBI agent, authorities said.

“WHITE openly discussed his desire and intention to travel overseas to join ISIS with various individuals on Facebook and over EMAs,” a federal complaint states.

Federal agents arrested him that day after he checked into his flight, proceeded through a security checkpoint at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and attempted “to make his way to board the plane,” court documents state.

FBI Director Christopher Wray at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Authorities said they seized nearly $7,000 from White on the day of his arrest and confiscated multiple firearms from his apartment in Durham.

White’s arrest comes after exiting FBI Director Christopher Wray told “60 Minutes” in a Sunday interview that ISIS supporters inspired “from afar” are “the most challenging type of terrorist threat we face” when asked about the Jan. 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that left 15 people dead, including the Texas-born terrorist attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

“You’re talking about guys like this, who radicalize not in years but in weeks, and whose method of attack is still very deadly but fairly crude,” Wray said. “And if you think about that old saying about connecting the dots, there are not a lot of dots out there to connect. And there’s very little time in which to connect them.”

White’s attorney, Chris Locascio, could not immediately be reached for comment.

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