Teen arrested in connection with planned attack at Phoenix Pride festival, police say
By Karina Tsui, CNN
(CNN) — An Arizona teen has been indicted on terrorism charges after allegedly planning to launch deadly explosives at the Phoenix Pride Festival last weekend.
The teenager has been charged with one count of terrorism and one count of conspiracy to commit terrorism, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a statement –– both of which are felonies.
Prosecutors believe the 17-year-old had intended to cause “serious injury or death” to participants at the festival, the statement read, after an investigation into the planned attack found that the teen had joined online chat rooms where he discussed needing supplies to create an “improvised explosive device,” according to the indictment.
Prosecutors also believe that the teenager was motivated by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and that he the 17-year-old was operating with at least two other co-conspirators –– one “unnamed” and another referred to as “Juvenile A.”
The defendant will be tried as an adult and is being held in jail on a $1 million cash-only bond, prosectors said.
CNN is working to determine the suspect’s legal representation and has reached out to the county public defender’s office for further information.
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