A Texas man alleged to be an ISIS sympathizer has been charged with an international terrorism offense for allegedly providing bomb making components and funding to people he believed were acting on behalf of the terror outfit, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Dec. 29 statement.
John Michael Garza Jr., 21, of Midlothian, was charged last week after coming into the spotlight in mid-October, when an undercover New York City Police Department employee saw that Garza’s social media account followed several pro-ISIS accounts, with the accused allegedly commenting on a pro-ISIS post as well, the DOJ said. ISIS is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.
When he engaged in conversation with the undercover agent, whom he believed was an ISIS associate, Garza described himself as a 21-year-old Mexican American from Texas, supporting ISIS ideology, according to the DOJ.
“Garza paid the undercover small sums of cryptocurrency in November and December 2025, believing that he was supporting ISIS causes, including buying firearms and other materials,” the DOJ statement said. In addition, “Garza also allegedly shared a video depicting a suicide vehicle bombing,” it said.
According to the DOJ, Garza eventually began revealing his plans to buy materials to produce explosives. He allegedly agreed to buy ingredients to make a bomb and meet with a second individual, an undercover agent from the FBI, on Dec. 22.
During the meeting, Garza handed the FBI agent various bomb-making materials, explaining the preparations, the DOJ said. He allegedly also offered to send the agent an instructional bomb-building video.
Garza was arrested shortly afterward, and faces a hearing on Dec. 30. If convicted, Garza faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.
“ISIS’s poisonous ideology must be ripped out root and stem—anyone who tries to commit violence on ISIS’s behalf will be found, arrested, and prosecuted. You cannot hide from us,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the statement.
“This is radical Islamic terrorism, and it was identified and stopped. Great work by our FBI teams @FBIDallas and great law enforcement partners,” FBI director Kash Patel said in a Dec. 29 post on X.
The Epoch Times was unable to ascertain whether Garza has been assigned legal representation.
Multiple individuals have been arrested by authorities recently over ISIS ties.
Earlier this month, an Afghan national was arrested on suspicion of providing support to ISIS.
The individual had entered the United States in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program, which aimed to resettle thousands of Afghan nationals in the United States when Washington withdrew its forces from the country.
Late last month, a dual American Albanian national was arrested and charged in New York for allegedly offering support to ISIS and distributing instructions for homemade bombs. He was previously arrested in Albania for a weapons offense.
Crackdown on ISIS
Meanwhile, U.S. forces have recently engaged in several operations against the terror outfit.
In a Dec. 17 statement, the U.S. Central Command said it carried out almost 80 operations in Syria since July to eliminate terror operatives, including those from ISIS, which posed a threat to America and its interests abroad.
“ISIS has inspired at least 11 plots or attacks against targets in the United States over the past year. In response, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) operations have resulted in 119 terrorists detained and 14 killed over the last six months, disrupting efforts for ISIS to reconstitute and inspire terror attacks globally,” the statement said.
CENTCOM said in a Dec. 19 statement that it commenced Operation Hawkeye Strike against ISIS in Syria following a recent attack against U.S. and partner forces. CENTCOM’s attack struck more than 70 targets at various locations.
On Dec. 13, two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in Syria after an ambush by an ISIS gunman, with three others injured.
The U.S. Africa Command announced on Dec. 25 that it carried out strikes against ISIS in Nigeria at the direction of President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
In a Truth Social post on Dec. 26, Trump said the terrorists targeted in the strikes have been “viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!”
Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, said it was “working with Nigerian and regional partners to increase counterterrorism cooperation efforts related to ongoing violence and threats against innocent lives.”
“Our goal is to protect Americans and to disrupt violent extremist organizations wherever they are,” he said.
