The Justice Department charged Christian Sturdivant with allegedly attempting to carry out a knife and hammer attack against random individuals on New Years Eve in support of ISIS, according to court records unsealed on Friday.

"Thanks to our great partners for working with us and undoubtedly saving lives," FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media.

Sturdivant, who is a U.S. citizen and turned 18 last month, allegedly planned to target a grocery store or a Burger King in North Carolina with a knife attack and allegedly said the U.S. would pay for their retaliatory attack on ISIS targets after two national guardsmen were killed in December, according to the court documents.
The investigation into Sturdivant started in 2022, when he was a minor, according to court records.

Sturdivant started on the internet reading ISIS material, going to ISIS websites, making TikTok videos and eventually reaching out to what he thought was a member of ISIS. In reality, that person was an undercover agent with the NYPD, investigators told reporters at a news conference Friday.
Sturdivant, according to his alleged notes, was seeking "pure destruction of America and the west," the court documents said.