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ISLAMABAD: A former United States National Guard member has been charged with &ldquo;attempting&rdquo; to provide material support and resources to a member believed to be receiving them on behalf of Al-Qaeda, according to a press release by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday.&nbsp; The US court records show Andrew Scott Hastings enlisted in the US Army National Guard and worked as an aircraft powertrain repairer. He also held a position with a national security clearance during his tenure. The statement revealed that Hasting had begun communicating with an undercover agent who claimed to have contacts with al-Qaida, a militant organization. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) learned that Hastings was discussing &ldquo;acts of violence against US civilians&rdquo; in furtherance of global jihad on a social media app in June 2024, the statement revealed. It stated that Hastings encouraged others in the social media group to develop cyberspace skills and to start physical training. During the conversation, they also discussed 3D-printed firearms, machine gun conversion devices known as &ldquo;switches,&rdquo; and drones. Later, the accused provided the undercover agent with a link to a website where he was offering 3-D printed switches for sale, as per the statement. Hastings also offered to provide 500 pages of notes, including army manuals related to tactics and the manufacture of weapons, to anyone interested, said the press release. The accused also helps members on how to avoid law enforcement. Hastings further alleged that he made a firearm and was interested in creating a nuclear weapon. He also discussed the advantages of using tunnels to protect armed militants, consistent with news reports about Hamas&rsquo;s use of tunnels in Gaza, said the statement. The case is being investigated by the US FBI and partner agencies.

Americas

Former United States National Guard member has been charged with “attempting” to provide material support and resources 

Former US army member charged for supplying equipment to Al-Qaeda

PROVO, Utah:&nbsp;The 22-year-old Utah man charged with capital murder in the assassination of Charlie Kirk appeared briefly Tuesday before a judge by video from jail.Tyler Robinson at times nodded slightly but mostly stared straight ahead as the judge read the charges against him and appointed an attorney to represent him.Prosecutors brought a murder charge against the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk and outlined evidence, including a text message confession to his partner and a note left beforehand saying he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation&rsquo;s leading conservative voices &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m going to take it.&rdquo;DNA on the trigger&nbsp;DNA on the trigger of the rifle that killed Kirk also matched that of Tyler Robinson, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said while outlining the evidence and announcing charges that could result in the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.The prosecutor said Robinson, 22, wrote in one text that he spent more than a week planning the attack on Kirk, a prominent force in politics credited with energizing the Republican youth movement and helping Donald Trump win back the White House in 2024.&ldquo;The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,&rdquo; Gray said.Kirk was gunned down September 10 while speaking with students at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby building on the campus in Orem, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.Robinson was scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing Tuesday afternoon. There was no attorney listed in the Utah online court docket for Robinson, even after charges were filed, and his family has declined to comment to The Associated Press.&lsquo;Enough of his hatred&rsquo;&nbsp;Authorities have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting, but Gray said that Robinson wrote in a text about Kirk to his partner: &ldquo;I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can&rsquo;t be negotiated out.&rdquo;Robinson also left a note for his partner hidden under a keyboard that said, &ldquo;I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I&rsquo;m going to take it,&rdquo; according to Gray.The prosecutor declined to answer whether Robinson targeted Kirk for his anti-transgender views. Kirk was shot while taking a question that touched on mass shootings, gun violence and transgender people.&ldquo;That is for a jury to decide,&quot; Gray said.Robinson was involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, who investigators say was transgender, which hasn&#39;t been confirmed. Gray said the partner has been cooperating with investigators.Robinson&#39;s partner appeared shocked in the text exchange after the shooting, according to court documents, asking Robinson &quot;why he did it and how long he&rsquo;d been planning it.&rdquo;Turned left politically&nbsp;While authorities say Robinson hasn&rsquo;t been cooperating with investigators, they say his family and friends have been talking.Robinson&rsquo;s mother told investigators that their son had turned left politically in the last year and became more supportive of gay and transgender rights after dating someone who is transgender, Gray said.Those decisions prompted several conversations in the household, especially between Robinson and his father. They had different political views and Robinson told his partner in a text that his dad had become a &ldquo;diehard MAGA&rdquo; since Trump was elected.Robinson&rsquo;s mother recognized him when authorities released a picture of the suspect and his parents confronted him, at which time Robinson said he wanted to kill himself, Gray said.The family persuaded him to meet with a family friend who is a retired sheriff&rsquo;s deputy, who persuaded Robinson to turn himself in, the prosecutor said.Robinson was arrested late Thursday near St. George, the southern Utah community where he grew up, about 240 miles (390 kilometers) southwest of where the shooting happened.No timestampsIn a text exchange with his partner released by authorities, Robinson wrote: &ldquo;I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. Its quiet, almost enough to get out, but theres one vehicle lingering.&rdquo;Then he wrote: &ldquo;Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven&rsquo;t seen anything about them finding it.&rdquo; After that, he sent: &ldquo;I can get close to it but there is a squad car parked right by it. I think they already swept that spot, but I don&rsquo;t wanna chance it.&rdquo;He also was worried about losing his grandfather&rsquo;s rifle and mentioned several times in the texts that he wished he had picked it up, according to the texts shared in court documents, which did not have timestamps. It was unclear how long after the shooting Robinson was texting.&ldquo;To be honest I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you,&rdquo; Robinson wrote in another text to his partner.Prosecutor says Robinson told partner to delete texts.Robinson discarded the rifle and clothing and asked his roommate to conceal evidence, Gray said.Robinson was charged with felony discharge of a firearm, punishable by up to life in prison, and obstructing justice, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.He also was charged with witness tampering because he had directed his partner to delete their text messages and told his partner to stay silent if questioned by police, Gray said.&lsquo;Anyone and everyone&rsquo;Kash Patel says investigators will look at everyone.FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday that agents are looking at &ldquo;anyone and everyone&rdquo; who was involved in a gaming chatroom on the social media platform Discord with Robinson. The chatroom involved &ldquo;a lot more&rdquo; than 20 people, he said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington.&ldquo;We are investigating Charlie&rsquo;s assassination fully and completely and running out every lead related to any allegation of broader violence,&rdquo; Patel said in response to a question about whether the Kirk shooting was being treated as part of a broader trend of violence against religious groups.The charges filed Tuesday carry two enhancements, including committing several of the crimes in front of or close to children and carrying out violence based on the subject&rsquo;s political beliefs.Gray declined to say whether Robinson&rsquo;s partner could face charges or whether anyone else might face charges.

Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with capital murder in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with evidence including a text confession, DNA, and political motives potentially linked to Kirk’s views.

Articles tagged with "Charged"

Former US army member charged for supplying equipment to Al-Qaeda

Suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing charged with aggravated murder

Suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing charged with aggravated murder