Federal authorities say a recently radicalized Texas teenager allegedly plotted to assassinate Republican Rep. Keith Self in the name of ISIS.
The 17-year-old McKinney boy was reportedly influenced by extremist propaganda online and targeted Self, co-founder of the Sharia-Free America Caucus. Sources told WFAA that the teen also obtained a firearm despite being a minor.
Investigators say he intended to carry out the attack at a public cook-off. FBI agents arrested him Oct. 5, officials told the outlet, and the unidentified teenager remains in federal custody.
“Preserving our constitutional republic from radical Islam means accepting the costs that come with it—name-calling, threats, and worse,” Self, who introduced a bill in July aimed at protecting the Constitution from Sharia law, wrote on X Wednesday.
“Our Founders believed this country was worth the sacrifice. I served 25 years in the military because defending freedom was worth the sacrifice. This only strengthens my resolve. I will not back down.”
Self told CBS News Texas that he first learned of the alleged plot when federal agents informed him they had arrested someone seeking notoriety by trying “to shoot at me.”
“When we knew about it, they had him,” Self said, adding that he was “very grateful” to the FBI. He said authorities indicated they had been aware of the teenager for some time.
Threats against members of Congress are “more routine than you would think,” Self said, though he noted that earlier threats against him had not reached this level and had not prompted law enforcement action.
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“So often we hear that somebody does something and then you find out later that the FBI had him on some sort of watch list and didn’t take action,” Self said. “So I am very grateful that the FBI took action in this case.”
Although Self described the moment as “a very unsettled time,” the Republican congressman said he was not shaken.
“I was in the military for 25 years, deployed multiple times,” he told the local CBS station.
“I also knew that law enforcement had him under control. Now, it would have been a little different if they had said, ‘There’s an unknown threat out there.’”
Self, who is seeking re-election, has emerged as one of Congress’ most outspoken critics of Sharia law. He has previously called the ideology “dangerous” and a “culture of violence and domination.”
“The United States Constitution and Sharia are fundamentally at odds with one another,” Self said last November.
“While Western civilization has evolved, Islam has not. Islam is stuck in the 8th century, and if they succeed at imposing their beliefs on us, we will be dragged back into the ‘Dark Ages.’”
Self is scheduled to face Democrat Evan Hunt in November’s congressional election.
He won his 2024 race with 62.5% of the vote against Democrat Sandeep Srivastava.