Terrorism In US: FBI Arrests Army Soldier Who Planned To Bomb Major News Outlet, Join Far-Right Group In Ukraine

The FBI on Saturday arrested a 24-year-old army soldier who had planned to bomb a major American news outlet and had expressed his desire to join a far-right paramilitary group in Ukraine. He had allegedly used Facebook messenger to distribute instructions on how to make bombs that can be detonated with a cellphone.

Pfc. Jarrett William Smith was taken into custody by federal agents at Fort Riley in Kansas and was charged with one count of distributing information related to explosives and weapons of mass destruction.

If convicted of the charges, Smith faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Smith told an undercover federal agent on encrypted messaging service Telegram on Friday that he wanted to bomb a "liberal Texas mayor" and had referred to former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running for president.

Smith also said on Aug. 19 that he was looking for other radicals with similar views as himself. He discussed bombing a local news station and killing members of the anti-fascist group Antifa.

He also told an undercover agent online how to build a vehicle bomb.

"Oh yeah, I got knowledge of IEDs for days," Smith said in a Facebook conversation in December. "We can make cellphone IEDs in the style of the Afghans. I can teach you that."

Federal investigators found that Smith had wanted to join a Ukrainian right-wing paramilitary organization in 2016 but wound up joining the U.S. Army a year later.

Federal investigators are more conscious of nationalist and right-wing terrorism after an attack in El Paso, Texas, in August targeted Latinos and killed 22 people.

In March, a 57-year-old man pleaded guilty to sending mail bombs to CNN offices in October 2018. He had also targeted major Democratic officials such as former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris.