U.S. Army Soldier Charged with Terrorism Plot Against Own Unit

A private in the United States Army has been arrested “for allegedly planning an attack on his U.S. Army unit by sending sensitive details about the unit… to members of an extremist organization named Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), an occult-based neo-Nazi and white supremacist group”.

Members of O9A support violent beliefs of both anti-Semitics and Islamic jihadists. As such, the private planned to murder his fellow soldiers by unveiling sensitive information, “intending that it be conveyed to jihadist terrorists”, including al-Qaeda.

After learning of his unit’s overseas deployment, the soldier sent messages to members of his neo-Nazi group and a purported member of al-Qaeda “with specific information about his unit’s anticipated deployment, including, among other things, the number of soldiers who would be traveling, the location of the facility to which [he] expected the unit would be deployed, and information about the facility’s surveillance and defensive capabilities”.

In an interview with the FBI, the private admitted to planning the attack and “that he intended the planned attack to result in the deaths of as many of his fellow service members as possible”.

In a six-count indictment, the former U.S. Army Soldier has been charged with attempting to murder U.S. nationals, including U.S. military service members, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.