Nicholas Young, a Washington DC Metro Transit police officer, who has served with the department since 2003, was on Wednesday arrested by FBI agents.
He was charged with trying to provide material support to ISIS – the first time a law enforcement officer has been charged with an ISIS-related crime.
Authorities allege in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday that Young attempted to send money to ISIS through a mobile-based gift card using an unnamed messaging service the terror group utilizes for recruiting purposes.
The transaction, which was redeemed by the FBI for $245, was made in July 2016.
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Despite Wednesday’s arrest, the department of justice said there was never any threat to the public or a plot by Young to target the public transit system he was hired to protect.
Court documents paint the story of an individual with ties to suspicious individuals and with terrorist aspirations abroad.
The criminal complaint connects Young to two convicted Washington, DC-area terrorist sympathizers, Zachary Chesser and Amine El Khalifi.
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Chesser was sentenced in federal court in 2011 to 25 years in prison for aiding Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab.
Chesser is known for threatening the creators of South Park for the show’s depiction of the prophet Mohamed. Khalifi was arrested in 2012 for attempting to detonate an explosive vest in the US Capitol building.
Court document show federal investigators also questioned Young about trips he had taken to Libya in 2011.
Young told FBI agents during an interview that he traveled twice to the North African nation to assist rebels attempting to overthrow the regime of then-dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
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