A teenager has been arrested for allegedly planning an ISIS-inspired terrorist drone attack at the Phoenix Pride events.
Marvin Aneer Jalo, 17, of Peoria, outside Phoenix, was arrested Oct. 18 and charged with felony terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorism.
Jalo is accused of having an instructional video on his phone that showed an ISIS fighter making the explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP), according to AZ Family. He is said to have communicated with extremists who recruited him in a chat room in 2023.
He is said to have posted that he could “bomb a 2024 Pride Parade and take over the US.” and that they sent him supplies to make explosives, according to the media.
Police believe, based on his messages, that the teen was planning to make a “bomb drone” using a remote-controlled vehicle.
Marvin Aneer Jalo, 17, of Peoria, outside Phoenix, was arrested Oct. 18 and charged with felony terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorism. Police believe the teen was planning to make a “bomb drone” using a remote-controlled vehicle.
Jalo is accused of having an instructional video on his phone that showed an ISIS fighter making the explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) (pictured: Phoenix Pride 2024).
“He definitely took steps in the process of putting together something that would act as an explosive,” Maricopa County Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell told AZ Family.
Mitchell said the boy had “very radical ideas” and was “homophobic.”
The criminal complaint, seen by AZ Family, said Jalo had recorded the Phoenix Pride parade event before last weekend’s celebrations.
The case is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI and two police departments.
‘These are serious accusations. They come with mandatory prison sentences,” Mitchell said.
According to Mitchell, Jalo is currently being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.
The criminal complaint said Jalo had recorded the Phoenix Pride parade event (pictured) before last weekend’s celebrations. Maricopa County Prosecutor Rachel Mitchell said the boy had “very radical ideas” and was “homophobic.”
The Prosecutor’s Office said Jalo had “intentionally or knowingly provided advice, assistance, direction or management of an act of terrorism to further the goals, desires, purposes, public pronouncements, manifestos or political objectives” of ISIS.
The teenager had participated in chats between November 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024, where he discussed the ‘inputs necessary to manufacture an improvised explosive device.’
The Pride celebrations passed without incident and were attended by Governor Katie Hobbs and former UN ambassador Susan Rice, according to AZ Family.
Earlier this year, ahead of Pride Month in June, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned that foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters could attack locations and events.
Major cities, such as New York, beef up security at their June events.
Phoneix Pride events take place in October, which is LGBT History Month, instead of June due to the high summer temperatures that hit the city.