Terrorism-related charges brought against Maine teen in alleged Chicago mosque-attack plot
A Maine teenager is now facing upgraded terrorism-related charges stemming from an alleged Isis-inspired plot to attack a Shiite mosque in Chicago last spring.
Xavier Pelkey, 19, was charged in a two-count superseding indictment made public Thursday in U.S. District Court in Maine with conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and possessing explosives, court records show.
The terrorism count carries up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted. An arraignment on the new indictment had not been set as of Thursday morning.
The superseding indictment greatly expands the allegations in an investigation that first came to light in February, when Pelkey was charged with possessing several shrapnel-packed homemade explosives allegedly found in during a raid of the Waterville home he shared with his mother.
At the time, prosecutors in Maine said Pelkey had been plotting online to travel to Chicago and commit “mass murder” at area places of worship, the Tribune has previously reported.
On Feb. 5, a week before Pelkey’s arrest in Maine, agents in the Chicago area executed a search warrant at the home of a 15-year-old boy who had been communicating online with Pelkey, according to a declaration by FBI Special Agent Garrett Drew.
Drew said the boy, identified only as “Juvenile #1,” and Pelkey, who used the name “Abdullah” on Instagram, were conspiring with a 17-year-old boy from Kentucky to attack “an identified Shia Muslim mosque in the Chicago area” in late March, coinciding with spring break.
“Juvenile #1 further explained that they would enter the Shia mosque and separate the adults from the children, then murder the adults,” Drew stated. “If they had not encountered law enforcement at that point, they would continue on to another Shia mosque or Jewish synagogue and execute the same plan.”
The teen told investigators they did not have a plan to escape “but rather their plan ended with them being shot by law enforcement.”
According to Drew, Juvenile #1 told investigators that Pelkey had told him he’d already built an explosive device to “get more people,” and that he’d be responsible for acquiring more firearms and ammunition.
Pelkey and the Kentucky teen, identified as “Juvenile #2,” intended to travel to Chicago by bus or train, according to the declaration.
Agents seized multiple firearms during the raid on Juvenile #1′s home, including a Remington pump shotgun, as well as swords, knives, a bow and arrows, multiple homemade ISIS flags and multiple electronic devices, according to the declaration.
A week later, FBI agents in Kentucky executed a search warrant at the residence of Juvenile #2. That boy told investigators he’d also been communicating with Pelkey, who talked about “gathering materials to make fireworks to attack someone,” according to Drew’s declaration.
“Juvenile #2 also said that ‘Abdullah’ told him that he wanted Allah to grant him to be a shaheed (martyr) and die while fighting in the cause of Allah,” Drew wrote.
Devotees of Islamic extremist groups such as ISIS have historically targeted other Islamic sects such as Shiites in terrorist attacks, according to the declaration.
No public charges have been announced against either of the juveniles.
Pelkey’s attorney, Christopher MacLean, did not respond Thursday to a request for comment. In arguing for bond for the teen earlier this year, he said his client was a “bright young man” who has a loving, supportive family.
Though he’s spent some time in juvenile detention, there was nothing in Pelkey’s background “that would suggest that he’s ineligible for release under these circumstances,” MacLean said, according to the transcript.
MacLean also called the government’s accusations of a terrorist plot in Chicago “posturing to some degree,” and that once all the facts come out it will be clear “this is a much more mundane situation” than what’s been alleged.
“He certainly disavowed any of the desires or intentions that the government has suggested during this detention hearing and is fully committed to adhering to whatever strict conditions the court sets here,” MacLean said.
