A DC metro transit officer was arrested Wednesday for supplying materials to ISIS, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney General's office.
Investigators believe Nicholas Young, 36, was transferring "stored value" cards to ISIS overseas.
Young, of Fairfax, Va., has been employed as a police officer with the Metro Transit Police Department since 2003.
According to the affidavit, Young was first interviewed by law enforcement in 2010 due to a connection with Zachary Chesser, who later plead guilty to providing materials to ISIS.
Officials say Young had several interactions with undercover law enforcement officers which were recorded. His family and coworkers were also interviewed by law enforcement. In 2012, another one of Young's acquaintances, Amine El Khalifi, plead guilty to charges relating to an attempted suicide bombing at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Young told the FBI he traveled to Libya twice in 2011 and was with rebels attempting to overthrow Muammar Qaddafi's regime.
He traveled with body armor, a kevlar helmet, and several other military-style items, according to the affidavit.
In 2014, he allegedly met with an FBI source and gave him tips on how evade law enforcement using specific travel plans and told him not to tell his plans to others.
That informant later led Young to believe that he left the military to join ISIS, investigators reported. In June 2015, Young contacted the informant asking for advice on how to send money overseas.
"[U]nfortunately I have enough flags on my name that I can’t even buy a plane ticket without little alerts ending up in someone’s hands, so I imagine banking transactions are automatically monitored and will flag depending on what is going on," Young said.
He was again interviewed by the FBI in December 2015 about his knowledge on the informant's whereabouts.
On July 18, 2016, Young again reached out to someone whom he believed was the informant, regarding purchasing of gift cards for mobile messaging.
Ten days later he sent 22 16-digit codes to an FBI undercover agent with this message:
“Respond to verify receipt . . . may not answer depending on when as this device will be destroyed after all are sent to prevent the data being possibly seen on this end in the case of something unfortunate.”
The codes were ultimately redeemed by the FBI for $245.
Young faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
The Metro Transit Police Department initiated this investigation and continues to work collaboratively with the FBI Washington Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force on the case.
Metro officials released the following statement:
"Since I received my first briefing on this matter, Chief Pavlik and I have worked hand-in-glove with the FBI in the interest of public safety and to ensure that this individual would be brought to justice," said Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. "Metro Transit Police alerted the FBI about this individual and then worked with our federal partners throughout the investigation up to and including today's arrest. Obviously, the allegations in this case are profoundly disturbing. They're disturbing to me, and they're disturbing to everyone who wears the uniform."
"On behalf of the Metro Transit Police Department, I want to thank the FBI and the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for their investigative work leading to today's indictment," said Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik. "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."
He is expected to appear in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, at 2 p.m.
This is a developing story, stay with WUSA9 for the latest.
Nicholas Young Complaint and Affidavit by wusa9 on Scribd
