Emanuel Lutchman, 25, was arrested in upstate New York for allegedly providing material support to the Islamic State and planning to “kill innocent civilians on New Year's Eve in the name of the terrorist organization, ” according to the FBI, the Los Angeles Times reports. Lutchman allegedly said an Islamic State operative in Syria had encouraged him in emails to try to kill thousands of people in the Rochester area. He spent much of the last two months in contact with an Islamic State operative overseas, meeting with three FBI informants, acquiring knives and other assault tools at a local Wal-Mart, and hoping to win a spot with the militant group in Syria.
A former convict, Lutchman allegedly told the FBI informants that joining Islamic State was a “dream come true.” He said, “I will take a life. I don't have a problem with that.” The case caps a year that saw the FBI launch terrorism-related investigations in every state and jurisdiction and make more than 60 arrests of alleged supporters of Islamic State or other extremist groups. The year also saw three domestic incidents that the FBI considered terrorism. On May 3, two armed men were shot and killed as they prepared to attack a “Draw Muhammed” contest in Garland, Tx. On July 16, a gunman was killed after he had shot and killed four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, Tn. On Dec. 2, married couple Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik were killed in a shootout with police after they had shot and killed 14 people and wounded 22 others in San Bernardino, Ca.