A U.S. police officer has been charged with allegedly aiding ISIS

A Washington D.C. transit authority cop has been arrested for planning to help ISIS.

(Image credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

published 3 August 2016

On Wednesday, a U.S. police officer was charged for the first time with supporting the Islamic State. Authorities have arrested 36-year-old Nicholas Young, a police officer with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and charged him with a single count of providing "material support" to ISIS, The Associated Press reported. There is no evidence at this point that Young posed a threat to Washington, D.C.'s Metro subway system, which is under the WMATA's jurisdiction.

Young has been on the FBI's radar since 2010 because of his connections to individuals charged with terror-related crimes and his own claims that he'd joined a rebel group during two trips to Libya in 2011. Then, last month, Young purchased $250 worth of gift cards, which he allegedly planned to send to ISIS so the terrorist group could purchase smartphone apps for easier communication. Authorities uncovered Young's plan when he mistakenly ended up giving the gift cards to an undercover FBI agent, The Associated Press reported.