DC Man Is First US Cop Accused of Aiding ISIS

Nicholas Young was a metro transit officer before FBI sting
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 3, 2016 12:23 PM CDT
DC Man Is First US Cop Accused of Aiding ISIS
Law enforcement officers are seen outside the home of Nicholas Young, a Washington Metro Transit officer arrested Wednesday on suspicion of aiding ISIS.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

A 36-year-old Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officer was arrested at work Wednesday on suspicion of providing financial support to the Islamic State, NBC News reports. It's the first time a US cop has been charged with aiding ISIS. According to CNN, the FBI had been investigating Nicholas Young for more than a year. Authorities say Young met with an FBI operative posing as an ISIS fighter 20 times, providing information on how to go unnoticed by law enforcement. He also allegedly bought 22 mobile messaging app gift cards to send to ISIS. Authorities say Young was never a danger to the DC transportation system and wasn't planning an attack in the US; he was only interested in supporting ISIS abroad.

Metro officials first reported suspicious behavior by Young back in 2009. He is said to be a Nazi-sympathizer, collecting Nazi memorabilia and sporting a German eagle tattoo, Fox News reports. Authorities say he also dressed as Jihadi John for Halloween in 2014, complete with a headless dummy he carried around. Young traveled to Libya in 2011, and he told the FBI he did so to fight alongside rebels against Qaddafi. Young, who was fired by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on Wednesday, faces up to 20 years in prison. (More ISIS stories.)

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