A U.S. Army recruit who said he wanted to engage in jihad on behalf of ISIS has been arrested and charged with trying to detonate a car bomb at Fort Riley military base in Kansas, authorities said Friday.
John T. Booker Jr. of Topeka was taken into custody near Manhattan, Kansas, the U.S. Justice Department said in a press release.
Booker enlisted February 7 and was due to ship to basic training on April 7, said Army spokesman Wayne Hall. His enlistment was terminated March 24 at the request of Army Criminal Investigation Command, Hall said.
He had completed preparations for a suicide bombing that would target military personnel, according to a federal criminal complaint released Friday. Fort Riley’s security was never breached and the device was “inert” and not a threat, the U.S. Justice Department said in a press release.
Fort Riley is located in northwest Kansas and is home of the 1st Infantry Division, known as “The Big Red One.”
The complaint alleges Booker told another person “that detonating a suicide bomb is his number one aspiration because he couldn’t be captured, all evidence would be destroyed and he would be guaranteed to hit his target,” the press release said.
He repeatedly said he wanted to engage in violent jihad for ISIS, the press release said.
Booker acquired components for a bomb, produced a propaganda video, rented a storage locker to store the components, identified Fort Riley as the target and talked about his plans to trigger the device himself and become a martyr, the press release said.
If convicted, Booker could face life in prison.
He was charged with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq, a designated foreign terrorist organization.