“This investigation began with concerns that were reported by the Metro Transit Police Department, and it reinforces that, as citizens, we all have a duty to report suspicious activity whenever and wherever it occurs”, Pavlik said.
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On July 18, 2016, Young again reached out to someone whom he believed was the informant, regarding purchasing of gift cards for mobile messaging.
David Smith, who was appointed to represent Young after the hearing, said he could not comment because he had not yet been able to research the details of the case. Young appeared in federal court in Alexandria this afternoon. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
During one of those interviews, he told the investigators that he had traveled to Libya twice in 2011 to fight with rebels trying to overthrow Moammar Ghadafi.
“None of the things that he said, none of the things he wanted to do related to anything here”.
Again, Young gave another undercover agent advice on how to travel to Syria without being detected by law enforcement.
Court records detail years’ worth of recorded conversations with undercover officers and an informant, who was later switched out for an Federal Bureau of Investigation agent.
Dina Ahmad, who has lived in the neighborhood for 13 years, speaks to members of the media as police search the home of Metro Transit Police officer Nicholas Young.
Young was well-known to counterterrorism investigators.
He often worked on his auto at late hours, and the vehicle was adorned with anti-Israel bumper stickers, she said.
“We knew something was weird about him”, Ahmad said.
“During these conversations Young advised CHS on how to evade law enforcement detection by utilizing specific travel methods and advised CHS to watch out for informants and not discuss his plans with others”, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. The authority, which said he was dismissed after his arrest Wednesday, would not say where he was assigned or what kind of work he did.
“Obviously, the allegations in this case are profoundly disturbing.
They’re disturbing to me, and they’re disturbing to everyone who wears the uniform”, Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement.
Young had been on law enforcement’s radar since 2010, when an acquaintance was arrested on charges of trying to provide material support to a terror group.
Metro officials did not say what tipped them off to Young. Amine El Khalifi, who was arrested in 2012 for planning a suicide bombing at the Capitol building, is another close associate of Young’s. But it said he did talk to the undercover officer about sneaking weapons into a federal courthouse, and stockpiling weapons. While perhaps not as much of a gun enthusiast as the three men recently arrested in Florida, he allegedly brought a large amount of ammunition to the training and operated several of his own firearms.
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In a June 2015 interview with law enforcement, he described dressing up at Halloween parties as a jihadist who had beheaded a hostage and as a Nazi.
