FBI Foils New Year’s Eve Terror Plot Planned For North Carolina-
The FBI announced Friday that it disrupted a planned New Year’s Eve terror attack in North Carolina. Christian Sturdivant, 18, was arrested in connection with the alleged plot in Mint Hill, North Carolina, Mediaite reported. Federal prosecutors said the suspect spent more than a year planning a jihad style attack targeting a local supermarket and fast food restaurant.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said during a news conference that Sturdivant planned to wear a Kevlar vest and attack victims using knives and hammers.
“He said he was going to wear a Kevlar vest and attack people with knives and hammers,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said investigators discovered knives and hammers hidden under the suspect’s bed while executing a search warrant at his home.
Authorities also found handwritten notes detailing the alleged attack plan, according to prosecutors.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspect was allegedly inspired by ISIS.
Attorney General Pam Bondi described the plot as “horrific.”
“The Department of Justice remains vigilant in our pursuit of evil ISIS sympathizers,” Bondi said.
“Anyone plotting to commit such depraved attacks will face the full force of the law,” she added.
The arrest comes days after federal authorities charged a Texas man accused of attempting to assist ISIS.
John Michael Garza Jr., 21, of Midlothian, Texas, was charged after allegedly providing bomb making materials to an undercover agent he believed was an ISIS affiliate.
The Justice Department said Garza brought explosive materials to a meeting with the undercover agent on Dec. 22.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that the Department of Justice has arrested and charged 98 people in Minnesota in connection with fraud investigations, adding that 85 of those charged are of Somali descent. As the investigations continue, she anticipates additional prosecutions.
Her announcement followed the release of a series of videos by Nick Shirley, which alleged that fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community extended beyond the high-profile Feeding Our Future case. That case centers on allegations that the Minneapolis-based nonprofit improperly diverted large amounts of federal funds intended to provide meals for at-risk children and families.
Released late last week, the video has garnered nationwide attention, including from the Trump DOJ.“[Nick Shirley’s] work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi said in an X statement late Monday.
“@TheJusticeDepartment has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals — 85 of Somali descent — and more than 60 have been found guilty in court,” she continued. “We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
Bondi described several cases that they had already prosecuted, including the Feeding Our Future scheme and a related juror bribery case. As Bondi pointed out, this situation was “not unlike what you would see in the corrupt Somali judicial system.”
In addition to the Feeding Our Future case, authorities have identified multiple instances of Medicaid fraud, including schemes involving services purportedly provided to children with autism.
In September, the Department of Justice announced charges against Asha Farhan Hassan, alleging the 28-year-old received nearly $500,000 for her role in a $14 million fraud scheme connected to autism services.
“As set forth in the information, Hassan and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (‘EIDBI’) benefit, a publicly funded Minnesota Health Care Program that offers medically necessary services to people under the age of 21 with autism spectrum disorder (‘ASD’). According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (‘DHS’) website, the purpose
of the EIDBI program is ‘to provide medically necessary, early and intensive intervention for people with ASD and related conditions,’” the release read.
DoJ Demands Records On Minnesota Same-Day Voter Vouching System-llllllllllllllll
Heightened scrutiny over Minnesota’s sprawling social services fraud case has prompted renewed attention to the state’s election procedures. A report circulated by Scott Presler, founder of Early Vote Action, has raised questions about Minnesota’s same-day voter registration and vouching system.
Under current state law, a registered voter may vouch for the residency of up to eight individuals seeking same-day registration, provided they live in the same voting precinct, Red State reported. Individuals who are vouched for are not permitted to vouch for others.
In addition, an employee of a residential facility may vouch for an unlimited number of residents of that facility.
Both voters and employees who vouch for others are required to swear under oath that the individual being vouched for is a resident of the precinct.
Critics say the process raises concerns about verification and oversight, particularly given the volume of same-day registrations.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has formally requested records from Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon related to the state’s same-day registration and vouching practices.
“This system seems facially inconsistent with the Help America Vote Act of 2002. We’ll see!” Dhillon wrote in a letter to the state.
Dhillon requested records from all federal elections over the past 22 months, including documentation supporting same-day registrations and materials related to the vouching process under Minnesota Statute 201.061, Subdivision 3.
The request covers elections, including the 2024 primary and general election.
Dhillon gave the state 15 days to provide the records to determine compliance with the Help America Vote Act.
Presler praised the move, calling it a significant step toward investigating election integrity concerns.
Federal agencies, including the FBI, the Treasury Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, are already conducting investigations in Minnesota on separate matters.
State officials have defended the election system, arguing that multiple safeguards are in place to prevent abuse.
Not all critics are persuaded by those assurances.
Bill Glahn of the Center for the American Experiment, a Twin Cities-based conservative public policy organization, questioned the effectiveness of those safeguards.
“It’s like murder’s illegal, but it happens all the time,” Glahn said.
“It’s a penalty of perjury,” he added. “You signed an oath, but if you signed as Mickey Mouse, they’re not going to find you.”
Nearly 500 employees in Minnesota’s state government say Gov. Tim Walz ignored repeated internal warnings about large-scale fraud involving state aid programs within the Somali community, and that he retaliated against staff who raised concerns.
The employees, who work within the state Department of Human Services, have for several years operated an anonymous X account outlining what they describe as ongoing cases of fraud and misuse of public funds. The group has previously directed warnings to state leaders and to Minnesota residents about patterns of financial abuse they say they identified in program oversight.
In a new post, the employees alleged that Walz not only failed to act on their alerts but also took punitive measures against staff members who attempted to report the issues through official channels. The governor’s office has not yet responded to the renewed claims.
“Tim Walz is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota,” the group said in a November 29 post referencing a New York Times article on the crimes. “We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud, but no, we got the opposite response.
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“Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression, and did his best to discredit fraud reports,” they added. “Instead of partnership, we got the full weight of retaliation by Tim Walz, certain DFL members, and an indifferent mainstream media. It’s scary, isolating, and left us wondering who we can turn to.”
