Charlotte-area teen charged in foiled ISIS-inspired New Year’s Eve attack

Federal prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old from a Charlotte, North Carolina, suburb with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after he allegedly planned a mass-casualty attack on civilians on New Year’s Eve.

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced the charges at a Jan. 2 news conference, identifying the suspect as Christian Sturdivant. Investigators arrested Sturdivant on Dec. 31, just hours before he allegedly intended to carry out the attack.

Prosecutors allege Sturdivant intended to attack people using knives and hammers at a grocery store, a Burger King, and other locations in Mint Hill, where he lives. The suburb is about 13 miles from Charlotte. 

Ferguson said investigators recovered handwritten notes indicating Sturdivant “was targeting Jews, Christian and LGBTQ individuals.” Authorities conducting a court-authorized search of his home also seized a written manifesto outlining plans for the attack.

James Barnacle Jr., the special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina, said the manifesto expressed a desire to die as a “martyr” during a confrontation with police. The Charlotte Observer reported that one document, titled “New Years Attack 2026,” referenced stabbing as many as 20 or 21 people.

According to Ferguson, Sturdivant was radicalized online and pledged allegiance to ISIS through communications on TikTok and other platforms. He has been known to the FBI since 2022, when, as a 14-year-old boy, he made initial contact with suspected ISIS affiliates. 

Officials said Sturdivant communicated his New Year’s Eve attack intentions to undercover law enforcement officers.

“He started reading ISIS material, started going to ISIS websites, making TikTok videos, and eventually reached out to what he thought was a member of ISIS,” Ferguson explained. “In reality, it was an undercover agent with NYPD in New York.”

Barnacle added that Sturdivant’s family had previously tried to intervene, including by hiding knives and other weapons. He also said Sturdivant has a history of psychological care “of which I don’t know the details.”

Investigators sought to have Sturdivant involuntarily committed to a mental health facility after receiving reports of escalating threats, Barnacle said, but the request was denied. After exhausting that option, law enforcement obtained a search warrant and moved forward with the arrest on New Year’s Eve.

Sturdivant made his initial court appearance Jan. 1 and was ordered to be held without bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.