The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a U.S. Army member, Jarrett William Smith, for a number of allegations, including discussing plans to bomb a major news network in America, ABC News reported.
Smith also allegedly posted information on how to build bombs online and may have been considering a trip to Ukraine to join far-right militant group Azov Battalion. Smith also stands accused of suggesting Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke as a target for violence after an FBI informant sought potential candidates from Smith in an online chat room.
In the conversation, Smith said that he was seeking other radicals who shared his views. The conversation allegedly included plans of attack on U.S. soil and even the possibility of killing members of Antifa, the self-proclaimed “antifascist” group reportedly responsible for potential acts of violence, such assaulting a man in a Make America Great Again cap, per The Inquisitr .
Smith is accused of discussing plans to use a vehicle as the carrying mechanism for a large quantity of explosives to bomb the news network.
“A large vehicle bomb. Fill a vehicle full of [explosives] then fill a ping pong ball with [commonly available chemical] via drilling then injection. Put the ball in the tank of the vehicle and leave. 30 minutes later, BOOM,” Smith reportedly said in the discussion, per ABC News .
The charging documents also include the conversation between Smith and an undercover FBI agent on the app Telegram just a few days ago.
FBI: You got anyone down in Texas that would be a good fit for fire, destruction and death?
SMITH: Outside of Beto? I don’t know enough people that would be relevant enough to cause a change if they died.
Included in the possible evidence stacking up against Smith, he’s also accused of being in contact with another man, Craig Lang, who has fought in the Ukrainian far-right group Right Sector. Toward the end of last year, the pair reportedly led a Facebook group chat in which was discussed Smith’s bomb-building capabilities. Allegedly, Smith boasted about his extensive knowledge of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
“We can make cell phone IEDs in the style of the Afghans. I can teach you that,” he purportedly said.
The HuffPost published an article — which contains the charging documents — reporting that Smith’s connection with Lang was made prior to joining the U.S. military in 2017. The article also states that some instructions Smith is accused of posting would not make a viable explosive device, according to the FBI affidavit.
