Christian Sturdivant, the 18-year-old Burger King employee from Mint Hill, North Carolina, was arrested on December 31th for allegedly planning a New Year’s Eve attack targeting a grocery store and a fast-food restaurant.
The FBI began investigating after linking Sturdivant to an online account that posted ISIS-supportive content. Authorities say searches uncovered a manifesto outlining weapons and potential targets. He later shared detailed plans and intentions with undercover FBI agents posing as confidants.
Court filings show that Sturdivant repeatedly posted online in support of ISIS and jihad. One post featured military-style gloves alongside a reference to a Quranic chapter associated with warfare. Another showed a ballistic vest captioned, “Islam is on the rise. May Allah curse the crusade coalition.” In December, he posted two Jesus figurines with the caption, “May Allah curse the cross worshipers.”
The FBI collected evidents of the planned New Year’s Eve attack, targeting a North Carolina grocery store and restaurant; Courtesy of the Department of Justice
The FBI became more directly involved after the North Carolina teen posted messages throughout December signaling a potential attack. In early December 2025, Sturdivant allegedly told undercover agents, “I will do jihad soon,” claiming he had spent a year planning an attack in a public place targeting “Christian pagans and LGBTQ” individuals.
The Department of Justice reports that on December 14, 2025, Sturdivant allegedly sent an online message to an undercover agent that included an image of two hammers and a knife. This is significant because a 2016 issue of an ISIS propaganda magazine promoted the use of knives to carry out terror attacks in Western countries.
The FBI stated that the public was never in danger. The case comes just one year after the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans, where a vehicle-ramming and violent assault in the French Quarter was investigated as an act of terrorism—underscoring the heightened vigilance surrounding potential holiday attacks.
Sturdivant is currently being held in Gaston County Jail without bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2026. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
