Arizona Man Hit with Terrorism Charges

Maricopa County Sherfiff's Office
Maricopa County Sherfiff's Office

A man from Phoenix has been accused of plotting an Islamic State (ISIS)-inspired attack, reports say.

Twenty-year-old Derrick Thompson, who changed his name to Abu Talib Al-Amriki when he converted to Islam, was charged by authorities for trying to obtain firearms and for attempting to incite others to join a radical ISIS plot to commit terror in the U.S., Arizona’s 3TV reports.

The indictment says Thompson attempted to take possession of a prohibited deadly weapon.

Thompson was arrested on December 20 after a two-year investigation by the Phoenix Field Office of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The investigators allege that Thompson has a history of searching for ISIS-related websites, and has praised so-called “lone wolf” terror attacks on social media, AZCentral.com reported.

In October, for instance, investigators told the court that Thompson wrote in praise of ISIS, “Right, we need to get down with this ISIS s–t.”

Thompson already has a criminal record, with convictions for armed robbery and aggravated assault.

The suspect is being held on $100,000 bond in the Maricopa County jail.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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