The FBI foiled an ISIS-linked terror attack on New Year’s Eve. A North Carolina man allegedly intended to use knives and hammers to attack a grocery store and fast food restaurant in support of ISIS.
In early December, Christian Sturdivant, 18, shared an image on social media depicting Jesus with text that read, “May Allah curse the cross worshipers.” Sturdivant later began communicating with an undercover employee whom Sturdivant believed was a member of ISIS. During these communications, Sturdivant said, “I will do jihad soon,” and declared he was “a soldier of the state.”
“On Dec. 14, 2025, Sturdivant allegedly sent an online message to the OC with an image of two hammers and a knife,” the Department of Justice explained in a news release. “This is significant because an article in the 2016 issue of ISIS’s propaganda magazine promoted the use of knives to conduct terror attacks in western countries. The same article inspired actual attacks in other countries.”
“The accused allegedly wanted to be a soldier for ISIS and made plans to commit a violent attack on New Year’s Eve in support of that terrorist group, but the FBI and our partners put a stop to that,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “The message from the FBI is clear — anyone who supports ISIS or other terrorist groups cannot hide and will be held accountable in our justice system.”
In September, a New York man was sentenced to 108 months in prison after he attempted to provide support to ISIS and plot an attack. Court documents explain that Awais Chudhary, 25, pledged allegiance to ISIS’s then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and began to plan a knife or bomb attack. He sought to carry out the attack at specific locations such as pedestrian bridges over the Grand Central Parkway and the Flushing Bay Promenade.
