A Waterville man who was arrested on Feb. 11 for unlawful possession of destructive devices allegedly planned to carry out an attack on a Chicago mosque that was inspired by the extremist group ISIS.
Xavier Pelkey, 18, allegedly colluded with two teenagers — one from Kentucky and one from the Chicago area — over social media to plan the attack according to recently unsealed documents from an FBI investigation, NBC News reported on Friday.
Pelkey and the two unnamed teenagers had reportedly planned for the attack to occur during “spring break”.
One of the teenagers said that the group had planned to infiltrate the mosque, separate the children from the adults and then “murder the adults” in the name of ISIS, the national news network reported.
During Pelkey’s February arrest, FBI agents allegedly found a number of hand-painted ISIS flags, along with three homemade explosives. The explosives reportedly contained various items, including staples and thumb tacks, that were meant to maximize injuries if the explosives were detonated.
Pelkey will be held in custody until a trial date is set, according to NBC News.