The FBI thwarted an ISIS-inspired New Year’s Eve attack inside a grocery store in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the suspect revealed his alleged plans to undercover officers, prosecutors said.
Christian Sturdivant, 18, was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, prosecutors said Friday, and had been on the FBI’s radar since 2022.
“We allege Sturdivant was willing to sacrifice himself by committing a terrorist attack using knives and a hammer to support the murder, torture and extreme violence that ISIS represents,” James Barnacle, the FBI Charlotte Special Agent in charge of the investigation, said at a press conference.
“We didn’t just learn about him a few weeks ago. Sturdivant first came to the FBI radar in January of 2022 when he was still a juvenile,” he added.
The alleged plot in Mint Hill was foiled by the FBI after the suspect began talking to an individual online he “believed to be affiliated with ISIS but in reality was a government online covert employee,” prosecutors allege.
During a search of the suspect’s home on Dec. 29, law enforcement found handwritten documents, including one titled “New Years Attack 2026.”
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