Federal authorities arrested 18-year-old Christian Sturdivant and charged him with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. They allege the teen was formulating a plan to attack people on New Year’s Eve at a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina.
Catching a Domestic Terrorist
Authorities allege that Sturdivant supports the Islamic State terrorist group and was planning the New Year’s Eve plot to show his loyalty to them. “He has been planning this attack for about a year, but he’s been planning an attack for far longer than that,” said the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson. “He was planning this attack in support of ISIS.”
During a press conference on Friday, January 2, 2026, Ferguson alleged Sturdivant “talked about what means he would use to kill innocent people.” He added, “He said he was going to wear a Kevlar vest and attack people with knives and hammers.”
Sturdivant supposedly spent a lot of time scrolling through the internet, reading plenty of material relating to ISIS and creating TikTok videos about the terrorist organization, and on December 12, 2025, “he reached out to what he thought was a member of ISIS.”
“In reality, [it] was an undercover agent with NYPD in New York,” Ferguson said. “He pledged his allegiance to ISIS with that undercover agent, and he disclosed his plans to ‘do Jihad soon.’ He then met a second undercover with the FBI, who he also thought was an ISIS participant, and he started to be very specific with his plans.”
Alleged Plans to Terrorize
Ferguson explained the plans Sturdivant had to commit a domestic terrorist crime. He allegedly intended to target a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in Mint Hill, a suburb outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. The goal was to hit “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed,” Ferguson said.
The FBI obtained a search warrant on December 29 for Sturdivan’s home and found two hammers and two butcher knives underneath his bed in addition to handwritten notes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of North Carolina issued a press release confirming one of the handwritten notes was titled “New Year’s Attack 2026.”
“The document listed items such as a vest, mask, tactical gloves, and two knives, allegedly to be used in the attack. It also described a goal of stabbing as many civilians as possible, with the total number of victims to be as high as 20 to 21,” the press release states. “The note also included a section labeled as ‘martyrdom op’ that described a plan to attack police responding to the site of the attack, so Sturdivant would die a martyr.”
Officials React to Arrest
Many federal officials commented on the success of this arrest in preventing what could have been a traumatizing and irreversible situation. “This successful collaboration between federal and local law enforcement saved American lives from a horrific terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice remains vigilant in our pursuit of evil ISIS sympathizers — anyone plotting to commit such depraved attacks will face the full force of the law.”
“The accused allegedly wanted to be a soldier for ISIS and made plans to commit a violent attack on New Year’s Eve in support of that terrorist group, but the FBI and our partners put a stop to that,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “It is essential to work closely with our law enforcement partners and to quickly share information about potential threats, as demonstrated in this case. The message from the FBI is clear—anyone who supports ISIS or other terrorist groups cannot hide and will be held accountable in our justice system.”
Facing Federal Charges
Sturdivant is currently in federal custody. The charges against him are allegations, and he is considered innocent until proven guilty. He will remain in custody until a deal is reached, and if he is convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Ultimately, a federal district court judge will decide the sentence.
