FBI Director Kash Patel has taken credit for thwarting what he claimed was a “potential” New Year’s Eve terrorist attack—with the suspect a teenage Burger King worker.
The embattled FBI head went on a social media posting spree to announce the arrest of 18-year-old Christian Sturdivant, from Mint Hill, North Carolina, for allegedly plotting to attack revelers with hammers and knives.
In a social media post, Patel said, “Potential ISIS-inspired attack disrupted. Today’s announcement marks the second public instance in a matter of weeks where the FBI and LEO partners stepped in and stopped an alleged New Years Eve attacker before they could harm innocent people.”
Patel has been under increasing pressure over his performance as Donald Trump’s handpicked FBI boss in recent weeks. His deputy, MAGA podcaster Dan Bongino, is leaving this month, while Patel—a cigar entrepreneur and MAGA influencer before his appointment—has faced widespread speculation that he will follow.
The bust he heralded was of a teenager who had been known to the FBI since 2022, and the New York Police Department appears to have been the agency that came into contact with the suspect in 2025 during the alleged plot.
Sturdivant has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a statement from the Justice Department said. In a post on X, the Charlotte Bureau said the suspect “was directly inspired to act by ISIS.”
Strudivant had been investigated by the Charlotte Field Office of the FBI in 2022 when he was 14, according to the FBI criminal complaint.
At the time, Sturdivant was allegedly in contact with an “unidentified ISIS member from a country in Europe,” who had directed him to dress in all black, knock on people’s doors, and then attack them with a hammer. Sturdivant had attempted to follow through on that order, but was blocked by his grandfather, according to the complaint.
Charges were not filed at the time, because Sturdivant was a minor. He underwent psychological care.
In the FBI’s 2025 investigation into Sturdivant, the bureau found that Sturdivant allegedly contacted a social media account he believed was connected to ISIS, but it was actually a fake, undercover account associated with the NYPD. Sturdivant allegedly told the NYPD officer manning the account that he “will do jihad soon” and claimed he was a “soldier of the state.”
In one message, Sturdivant allegedly told an agent he was “prepared for death.”
While searching Sturdivant’s home, law enforcement officials found a handwritten noted entitled “New Years Attack 2026,” which allegedly included plans to stab as many people as possible and attack responding police officers, the DOJ said. He was targeting Christians, Jews, members of the LGBTQ+ community, members of the military, and law enforcement, according to an affidavit.
“It was a very well-planned, thoughtful attack that he had planned, and that was fortunately foiled. Here he was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die, and we were very, very fortunate they did not,” Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina said Friday.
Sturdivant appeared in federal court in Charlotte on Friday. He is being held without bail. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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