He pledged loyalty to ISIS. He then taught an FBI agent how to make bombs, cops say
A St. Augustine man was arrested on a federal charge for helping to better arm the ISIS terrorist organization through producing and disseminating instructional explosive videos, according to a court documents.
Romeo Xavier Langhorne, 30, is charged with providing material support or resources to terrorists as first reported by the Florida Times Union.
Under federal law, he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Law enforcement first became aware of Langhorne’s allegiance to ISIS in 2014 after a Facebook post supporting the terrorist organization, investigators say. That’s when they began monitoring his presence on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
The complaint affidavit alleges Langhorne and an undercover FBI agent communicated with one another from Feb. 14 until Nov. 7. During that time, Langhorne made and published a video on how to manufacture triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the same explosive used in both the 2016 Manchester Arena and 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings .
“Although the video includes disclaimers about education purposes, Langhorne’s true purpose is to arm ISIS adherents and others with knowledge of how to make TATP,” the FBI agent wrote.
Langhorne also faces accusations of directing the undercover agent to create his own explosive. The complaint states Langhorne was living in St. Augustine when he began instructing the agent, but moved to Virginia in April.
Barely a month after their initial conversations began, a St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office Suspicious Person report was filed that listed Langhorne as the subject, according to the complaint.
As of Tuesday, court records show that Langhorne remains jailed in the Western Virginia Regional Jail.
