ISIS sympathizer in Arizona arrested for plotting lone wolf attack

Kaye Garcia Thursday, December 29, 2016

A still image from an undated video Islamic State posted July 19, 2016 in which a man whom it identifies as the Afghan refugee who attacked passengers with an axe on a train in Germany vows to carry out a suicide mission and urges other Muslims to do the same. | Social Media via Reuters TV

A suspected supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona for plotting a lone wolf attack.

The Arizona Joint Terrorism Taskforce took into custody Derrick Thompson, who also uses the name Abu Talib Al-Amriki, a few days before Christmas. Thomson's suspicious activities online and offline reportedly caught the attention of authorities, prompting them to arrest the former.

ABC 15 reports that court documents indicate that in January 2015, the suspect attempted to purchase a gun from website backpage.com, but he was unsuccessful as he is a convicted felon, and hence, he could not buy a firearm. He also reportedly conducted Google searches for handguns, rifles, scopes and crossbows. Alarm was raised further when in October, Thompson used Google search keywords such as "midnight mass," "martyrdom vs. suicide" and "which type of gun is the most powerful."

Furthermore, the suspect posted "We need to get down with ISIS S***" on his Google Plus account in October, ABS 15 adds.

Last week's arrest was not the only time that Thompson brushed with authorities. In 2005, he was sentenced to almost eight years in prison on charges of armed robbery along with two other men. He was released on Jan. 1, 2015.

The year 2016 saw a series of lone wolf attacks from ISIS sympathizers. One case involved Omar Mateen who open fired at patrons of a gay nightclub, killing 50 people and injuring 53 others. More recently, an armed attacker drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, leaving 12 dead and dozens wounded.

In June, during the Capitol Hill meeting, Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to members of the anti-Islamic State coalition, stated that ISIS officials were telling members in the West to strike at home instead of traveling to the Middle East, The Washington Times reported.

This indicates that ISIS remains very much a threat worldwide despite territorial losses in its Iraq and Syria strongholds.