US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday arrested an ISIS sympathiser in Texas over attempts to provide bomb-making components and money to individuals he believed were acting on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization.FBI chief Kash Patel said that 21-year-old John Michael Garza Jr allegedly shared ISIS propaganda, sent cryptocurrency believing it would fund terrorist activity.
“The FBI and our partners have arrested a 21-year-old alleged ISIS sympathizer in Texas – following a terrorism investigation into attempts to provide bomb-making components and financial support to a designated foreign terrorist organization,” Patel said.“The subject allegedly shared ISIS propaganda, sent cryptocurrency believing it would fund terrorist activity, and attempted to deliver materials intended for explosive devices. This is radical Islamic terrorism, and it was identified and stopped. Great work by our FBI teams and great law enforcement partners,” he added.According to FBI, Garza brought various bomb-making materials to a meeting on Monday evening and gave them to an individual he allegedly believed was an ISIS “brother.”However, in reality, Garza met with an undercover agent.During the meeting, Garza described how to mix the components and offered to send an instructional video explaining how to build the bomb. Law enforcement agents arrested Garza shortly after he left the meeting.“According to the complaint, in mid-October 2025, an undercover New York City Police Department employee noticed a particular social media account — later determined to be Garza’s — that followed several other pro-ISIS accounts and wrote a comment on a pro-ISIS post. When the NYPD undercover engaged with Garza on social media, Garza described himself as a 21-year-old Mexican-American living in Texas,” FBI said in a press release.“In their continuing conversations throughout November and December, Garza shared that he ascribed to the ISIS ideology and sent the undercover multiple official ISIS media releases. 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. Examples of ISIS media releases that Garza provided included,” it added.
