FBI Foils ISIS-Inspired New Year’s Terror Plot in North Carolina

A Midnight Knock in Winston-Salem

Just after 11 p.m. on December 28, residents of a quiet cul-de-sac in Winston-Salem heard the thud of flash-bangs and the crackle of radios. Within minutes, 29-year-old Malik Faisal Rahman—an American citizen who had pledged allegiance to ISIS in encrypted Telegram chats—was in handcuffs, his rented storage unit filled with pressure-cooker bombs, nails, and ball bearings seized as evidence.

The Tip That Saved Times Square, North Carolina–Style

According to three federal law-enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the break came when a local gun-range owner flagged Rahman’s erratic behavior. The customer had asked to buy “as much ammunition as you can spare” and bragged about “making the kuffar pay on New Year’s Eve.”

“He kept saying, ‘The ball drop will mean something else this year,’” the owner told agents. “My stomach turned.”

48 Hours of Surveillance, 12 Minutes of Action

FBI counter-terror teams in Charlotte and Quantico stitched together a portrait: Rahman had downloaded bomb-making manuals from an ISIS media channel, purchased remote-trigger components on Amazon under a fake name, and surveilled downtown Greensboro’s First Night celebration. By the time federal agents requested a no-knock warrant, they believed the devices could be operational within 24 hours.

What Could Have Happened

Prosecutors say Rahman planned to leave two explosive-laden backpacks near the stage where the midnight countdown draws more than 40,000 revelers. An FBI bomb-tech later testified the shrapnel would have traveled 300 yards—“essentially the length of four football fields packed with families.”

North Carolina’s Terror Track Record

• 2015: Chapel Hill man charged with supporting al-Nusra Front.
• 2019: Elizabeth City resident sentenced for plotting attacks on military posts.
• 2024: Rahman becomes the fourth ISIS-linked arrest in the state since October.

Community Reacts: Relief, Then Resolve

At a press briefing Thursday, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan thanked “every clerk, neighbor, and online friend who said something when they saw something,” while Imam Khalid Griggs of the Islamic Center urged vigilance “against both terror and the terror of Islamophobia that spikes after headlines like these.”

What Happens Next

Rahman faces federal charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. If convicted, he could spend life behind bars. A detention hearing is set for January 3; prosecutors will argue he remains a flight risk and an “ongoing danger to the community.”