US says foiled possible Daesh-inspired New Year’s Eve attack in North Carolina

• The suspect, accused of providing material support to Daesh, has yet to enter a plea.
• Investigators say he spent nearly a year planning a knife attack.
• The DoJ says FBI agents seized hammers and knives from suspects.

The US Department of Justice announced on Friday that it foiled an alleged plan by a North Carolina man to carry out a Daesh-inspired attack using knives and hammers on New Year’s Eve.

Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill, North Carolina, was charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint.

Sturdivant has not yet entered a plea to the charges. He was arrested on Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, and made his first court appearance on Friday.

Sturdivant had pledged allegiance to Daesh and planned to attack a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in his hometown, Russ Ferguson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, told reporters.

“He was preparing for an attack and innocent people were going to die,” Ferguson said.

FBI agents searching Sturdivant’s home found a handwritten document titled “New Years Attack 2026,” which allegedly discussed plans to stab up to 20 victims and attack responding police officers.

Agents seized hammers and knives from his bedroom, according to a Justice Department statement, which cited information in a criminal complaint.

Sturdivant had planned the attack for about a year and contacted two undercover FBI and New York City police department agents online in December who he believed to be affiliated with Daesh. He shared photos of two hammers and a knife and discussed plans for an upcoming attack, according to the complaint.

Sturdivant first came to the FBI’s radar in 2022 when, as a juvenile, he was in contact with an unknown Daesh member overseas and took steps to attack with a hammer. He was not charged in that incident and instead underwent psychological treatment, according to law enforcement officials.