20-Year-Old Man Who Thought of Bombing Los Angeles Subway on New Year Wanted to Join 'Allah's Army'

A 20-year-old man was arrested near the Canada-U.S. border. According to prosecutors, he expressed his desire to join Islamic extremists.

Nicholas Teausant is from Acampo, California. He was arrested from an Amtrak bus on Sunday, March 16, just before it reached the border. Mr Teausant claimed to be a student of San Joaquin Delta Community College, Stockton. He also claimed that he was a member of the National Guard but was in the process of being discharged as he had failed to meet basic academic requirement, CTV News reported.

Mr Teausant, who started expressing his wish on Facebook in spring 2013 that he would like to see the downfall of the United States, will face terrorism-related charges. The young man said that he would "love to join Allah's army." However, he said that he had no idea how to start the process of joining the Syrian extremist group. According to the official complaint, Mr Teausant used another forum online to express his desire to be a part of the on-going political unrest in Syria.

Criminal charges against Mr Teausant include a single count of "attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization." The charge is based on his repeated claims to travel to Syria to join the extremist forces. The complaint further says that the young man discussed numerous terrorist ideas which, however, he never became successful. His terrorist plans included bombing the Los Angeles subway system in New Year.

Mr Teausant has apparently been planning to support the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant, the Syrian extremist group which is engaged in the national civil war. U.S. State Department recognises it as a terrorist organisation. Mr Teausant was trapped when the person whom he shared his detailed plan with turned out to be a paid informant of the FBI. The 20-year-old seemed quite serious about his plans, according to reports.

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