FRESNO, Calif. (KGTV) - The former Camp Pendleton Marine accused of supporting a Christmas Day terror attack at San Francisco's Pier 39 popular tourist destination was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.
Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, pleaded guilty to the plot in June. He supported radical ISIS jihadi beliefs, wrote social media posts supporting terrorism, communicated with people he believed supported his views, and offered to provide services to them with a tow truck, according to a report written by FBI Special Agent Christopher McKinney.
A confidential source alerted the FBI last fall to a Facebook account Jameson ran, agents said. Jameson “liked” and “loved” posts that were pro-ISIS and pro-terrorist, the source told the FBI. Among the posts was a picture of Santa Claus standing in New York with a box of dynamite.
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Jameson met with an FBI undercover employee he believed to be associated with ISIS and described his interest in planning and undertaking a violent attack in San Francisco, the report said.
Agent McKinney said James specifically mentioned Pier 39 in San Francisco because he had been there before and knew it was a densely crowded area.
According to the undercover agent, Jameson said he wanted to use explosives and “funnel” people into a location where he could inflict casualties. He said he needed ammunition, powder, tubing, nails, timers, and remote detonators. Jameson planned to go to the mountains and build the devices at a remote campground, then store them at his home in Modesto, said officials.
A search warrant was executed at Jameson’s Central Valley home on Dec. 20. Investigators found his will and a handwritten letter. Jameson said he did not have or need an escape plan because he was ready to die, according to the report.
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Jameson also voiced support for the October 31, 2017 terror attack in New York City during which a driver used his truck to kill eight people and mentioned the 2015 San Bernardino attack, the report said.
"Jameson put his fellow Americans at risk by supporting ISIS and planning an attack on behalf of the terrorist organization," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers in a statement Monday. "This is unacceptable, and I am grateful for the hardworking agents and prosecutors who are responsible for this successful result."
Agent McKinney said Jameson attended basic recruit training for the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in 2009. He earned a ‘sharpshooter’ rifle qualification and a National Service Medal. Jameson was discharged for fraudulent enlistment due to an undisclosed history of asthma.
