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Notes -
Massachusetts Man Arrested for Knowingly Concealing the Source of Material Support or Resources to a Foreign Terrorist Organization, otherwise known as the FBI grooms yet another kid; an agent have been in contact with a guy since he was 16 until 18, LARPing as an ISIS recruiter and soliciting gift cards, Indian scammer style.
What is the value of these ploys to society? This seems morally abhorrent to me and the only justification I can find is that "he would've done it if the agent was a real ISIS member," but (a) he tried to report the contact and (b) this logic doesn't work for entrapment.
What is the value of these ploys to the FBI? Going off tropes, more crimes = more funding more power and more reputation. If that's the case I want more concrete and detailed pathways.
Is there a way I can access the criminal complaint? I am skeptical of the "Brain Development Issues" and think the Intercept is trying to sensationalize the story which works to the latter's detriment; what the FBI did is unacceptable even if the guy was a genius.
We don't know enough about what happened to conclude that the FBI acted improperly, do we? The Intercept article says, "In August 2021, when he was 16 years old, Ventura began communicating with an undercover FBI agent online. He told the agent of his desire to make “hijrah,” or migrate to territories under control of the Islamic State." That certainly sounds like he initiated the conversation, though we can't know for sure.
Then, after backing out of plans to go abroad, " In January 2023, just after his 18th birthday, Ventura got back in touch with the FBI agent on the encrypted messaging platform. Apologizing for not being communicative in previous months after his supposed injury, Ventura again said he wanted to travel to the Islamic State. The pair discussed the possibility of him dying in an attack by ISIS fighters somewhere in the world or attending a training camp." Again, that sounds like he reinitiated contact and claimed to be interested in going.
And I am not too impressed with him calling the FBI tip line, given that he demanded $10 million in cash in duffel bags.
None of this means that he was a threat; the cash in duffel bags thing certainly supports the notion that he is not all there. But unless the FBI knew that, which they probably didn't, that says nothing about the propriety of their actions. And note that young, not very sharp, males are probably the demographic most likely to actually go through with joining violent groups or with harebrained schemes like going abroad to wage jihad.
After all the sordid scam investigation history of the FBI I wouldn't presume good faith. The press in general has also tended toward covering up and cooperating with FBI, so I wouldn't parse The Intercept's exact wording as a clue to figuring out what happened. Granted, we don't know enough to say for sure what happened. But the precis makes this sound very sketchy. How likely was it for some autist 16-year-old to get anywhere on his own merits without the FBI stepping in?
I am not arguing that we should presume good faith. I am arguing for not presuming bad faith.
I have no idea what the data says on that. Do you? Presumably, it depends on the degree and type of autism. Assuming this guy has autism in the first place.
About the FBI? You should re-evaluate your life's choices my dude. If the FBI told me the sky was blue I'd go outside to check, just in case.
Perhaps you should evaluate your vulnerability to availability bias.
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