January 1, Radicalized Teen Nabbed Before ISIS Plot To Kill Texas Congressman

Wyatt’s Take

• A 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas, was arrested before he could carry out a planned ISIS attack on a GOP congressman and North Texas targets.
• The suspect had already bought a firearm and was under federal watch after rapid online radicalization.
• Rep. Keith Self refuses to back down, saying threats from radical Islam only strengthen his commitment to defend the Constitution.

A 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas, sits in federal custody after agents say he planned to gun down Rep. Keith Self at an October 17 event and follow up with an ISIS terror attack in North Texas.

Authorities arrested the teen on October 5 once he had secured a firearm. Sources say the boy had recently embraced radical Islamist ideology and was already being tracked by federal agents.

Rep. Self told reporters he cannot prove his political stands were the reason for the targeting, yet he pointed to the facts.

“If it’s ISIS-related, you kind of have to believe that. I can’t prove that. I don’t know that for sure. But you have to follow the [old saying] if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck,” he said.

Last month Self introduced a resolution denouncing Sharia law and helped launch the “Sharia-Free America Caucus” with Rep. Chip Roy. The group’s stated goal is “to oppose the influence of Sharia law in the United States and assert its incompatibility with the U.S. Constitution and Western values.”

Self thanked the officers who stopped the plot and made clear he will not be intimidated.

“Preserving our constitutional republic from radical Islam means accepting the costs that come with it—name-calling, threats, and worse,” he said. “Our Founders believed this country was worth the sacrifice. I served 25 years in the military because defending freedom was worth the sacrifice. This only strengthens my resolve. I will not back down.”

His Democrat opponent, Evan Hunt, condemned any violence in politics.

“There is no place for violence in our politics,” Hunt said. “No political disagreement ever justifies threatening someone’s life. Every elected official, their family and their staff deserve to be safe, regardless of party.”

Hunt continued, “I appreciate the FBI and the law enforcement officers working to keep our communities and public servants safe. We must settle our differences through debate and at the ballot box. Political violence must be condemned without hesitation or excuses, no matter who is targeted.”

Self is seeking a third term this November.

Wyatt Matters

Middle America still believes elected leaders should stand for the Constitution, not surrender to threats from radical ideologies that have no place on our soil.