Maine teen recruited 2 others to help commit 'mass murder' at Chicago area mosque: feds
Hand-painted ISIS flags found in 18-year-old Xavier Pelkey's bedroom, court documents show
CHICAGO (WLS) -- New details about an alleged plot to attack Chicago-area houses of worship have been unveiled in newly-unsealed court documents.
A Maine teen was arrested in February after homemade explosives were found in his home. The unsealed documents reveal what federal prosecutors say was a plan for three teenagers to commit mass murder at a mosque in the Chicago area, all in the name of ISIS.
SEE ALSO | Maine teen arrested with explosives plotted mass murder at Chicago synagogues, mosques: FBI
Hand-painted ISIS flags were found in 18-year-old Xavier Pelkey's bedroom in his apartment in Maine last month, where authorities say he was hatching a disturbing plan to target a Shi'a Muslim mosque in the Chicago area with the help of two other teenagers.
Newly unsealed federal documents reveal Pelkey recruited a 17-year-old boy from Kentucky and a 15-year-old boy from Chicago through Instagram.
The three were allegedly planning to go to an area mosque in late March during spring break and commit "mass murder," all in the name of ISIS.
Federal prosecutors said they planned to continue going to other mosques and synagogues until they were eventually killed by law enforcement.
Along with those ISIS flags, agents also discovered handmade bombs, with Pelkey telling agents he wanted to make a "bigger boom."
Saadia Pervaiz, with CAIR-Chicago, condemned what she's calling an act of hate.
"They should be charged with hate crimes," Pervaiz said. "They were targeting Muslims. They were targeting Jewish people, and I think it's important that they are held accountable for these actions."
This case is still ongoing. Federal prosecutors said the investigation spans "several districts" and more persons of interest are being identified.
