Alexander Justin White, 29, who went by the name Sulaiman Al-Amriki online allegedly began posting his support for ISIS on his Facebook account between May and October, according to the court records.
In one post in July of 2024, White, who lived in the 4600 block of University Drive in Durham, allegedly posted a video glorifying ISIS.
"White's Facebook timeline also shows several posts and reposts about well-known ISIS supporters and scholars including Abu-Hudayfah Al-Ansari, according to the criminal complaint.
He also allegedly "openly" discussed his desire to join ISIS, according to the complaint.
"White had told that individual that he wanted to go to an ISIS-controlled location and specifically noted "the strength is more in Africa," according to the complaint.
On Sept. 13, he allegedly messaged an undercover FBI employee stating he was excited to travel and join ISIS. A day later he made a video saying why he wanted to join ISIS.
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According to court documents, On Sept. 24, when the undercover agent asked whether White was OK with killing members of the U.S. military or other U.S. citizens, he replied "If it was a family member, I would still fight back with them ... There is no US troops love for homeland or any of this thing.'
Full interview on counterterrorism with Duke's David Schanzer
"It's not unusual that somebody would be saying things on social media or to friends, and FBI will get wind of that and then they'll start intentionally using an undercover agent to communicate," David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University, told ABC11.
Records show he bought several firearms, including pistols and rifles, in 2019 and trained with several of them according to photos contained in the complaint.
On Oct. 8, White allegedly made plans to travel to join ISIS by booking a flight from North Carolina to Morocco. He also made other plans allegedly including selling his guns and purchasing various boots and clothing for his trip.
According to court records, White sent the undercover agent a screenshot of his travel itinerary showing a flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Rabat, Morocco, through Paris, and told the agent that "a lot of things (are) happening."
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Investigators learned that his flight was set for Dec. 4 from RDU with a return flight to the Triangle on Dec. 18. An FBI special agent noted that White likely purchased a round-trip ticket to avoid arousing suspicion, a common practice among Islamic extremists.
White was arrested by FBI agents at RDU at 7:50 p.m. after he cleared the gate and attempted to board the airplane.
"From my reading, there doesn't seem to be allegations that he was planning on doing anything here, for example, like the New Orleans incident on New Year's," Schanzer said. "The principal allegations are that he was going to travel abroad to try to join up with other individuals in ISIS and possibly engage in violence there."
ABC News contributed to this report.