Pa. Man Charged With Planning ISIS-Inspired Attack

A Pennsylvania man who allegedly dubbed himself "Hamza Al Rashid" is accused of gearing up for an ISIS-inspired attack, federal authorities say. The Justice Department on Tuesday charged 21-year-old Jonathan Hunter Kramer of Valencia with receiving a gun and ammunition to support the terror group, reports ABC News. Kramer, previously adjudicated delinquent in a separate mass-casualty plot and child sexual abuse material case, was recently the subject of a tip to the FBI, according to court papers. Agents say they watched him buy a burner phone, pay cash for a hotel room, then visit the gun counter at a sporting goods store before stopping him in the parking lot.

A search allegedly turned up a semiautomatic rifle, 190 rounds of ammunition, about 30 knives, and a note saying he couldn't "live in constant fear." Federal officials say their intervention disrupted a potential attack. "His apparent ISIS inspiration and escalation toward violence show how close this country came to a devastating attack," says John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, per a DOJ release. "This arrest prevented what could have been a horrific tragedy." Kramer is set to appear in federal court on Wednesday, per TribLIVE.