Mint hills: The U.S. Department of Justice announced the thwarting of a New Year's Eve knife and hammer attack plot orchestrated by a group influenced by the Islamic State (IS).

According to Thai News Agency, 18-year-old Christian Sterdivant of Mint Hills, North Carolina, has been charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. FBI agents searched his home and found handwritten documents detailing a New Year's Eve attack plan for 2026, outlining plans to stab up to 20 people and assault police officers. They also seized several hammers and knives in his bedroom.

The indictment states that Mr. Sturdivant had been planning the attack for about a year and had online conversations last December with FBI agents and New York City police undercover officers whom he believed to be ISIS collaborators. During these online conversations, he shared photos of two hammers, a knife, and his plans for the attack.

The Western District Attorney of North Carolina revealed during a press conference that Mr. Sterdivant declared allegiance to ISIS and planned attacks on grocery stores and fast-food restaurants in his hometown. He was prepared to commit the acts and innocent people would lose their lives. He was arrested on December 31, 2025, and brought to court for his first hearing yesterday. Law enforcement officials revealed that the FBI had been monitoring him since 2022 when he was a juvenile, due to his contacts with ISIS members abroad and his plans to carry out attacks with a hammer. At that time, he was not charged but was sent for psychiatric treatment.