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(CNN) - A US Army soldier He discussed the bomb manufacturing techniques and the bombing of the headquarters of a major American news network, and named the presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke as a possible target before being arrested this weekend, according to court documents published Monday.
Jarrett William Smith, 24, was accused of distributing information related to weapons of mass destruction after offering to teach others how to make bombs and discuss bombing the headquarters of the news network, according to Kansas federal court documents. He was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas before his arrest on Saturday. Smith's arrest comes amid a wave of arrests and charges that the Department of Justice has made it possible to interrupt potential plots of internal terrorism.
Smith allegedly argued with a confidential source to the FBI that "the headquarters of a major US news network would be a suggested objective, using a vehicle pump," an FBI agent wrote in court documents.
Two sources familiar with the matter say that the news network that Smith discussed attacking with a car bomb was CNN.
CNN President and President of WarnerMedia News and Sports, Jeff Zucker, said in a message to employees that there was no imminent threat to the organization.
"I want to assure everyone that there was never an imminent threat to CNN locations," he said in an email. "We continue to actively monitor these problems daily and work closely with our security teams around the world and our public order allies."
Smith made an initial appearance in federal court in Kansas on Monday afternoon. You must appear again in federal court for a detention hearing on Thursday in Topeka. Smith's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to court documents, Smith also mentioned O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman, in a conversation with an undercover FBI agent on September 20. The undercover agent had told Smith that he was looking to attack a politician, and Smith responded with instructions on how to make a bomb or grenade.
"Do you have someone in Texas that would be a good place for fire, destruction and death?" The undercover agent told him. “Out of Beto? I don't know enough people who would be relevant enough to cause a change if they died, ”Smith replied. The FBI had begun tracking Smith in March, which had been stationed in Texas since 2017. He was transferred to Fort Riley in July.
O'Rourke's campaign spokeswoman Aleigha Cavalier thanked the FBI for her work on the case.
"We take any threat like this very seriously, and our team is in direct contact with the FBI regarding this case," he said. "It is not a single person or a campaign, and we will not let this scare us or make us go back in the fight for what is right."
Smith had already discussed in 2016 joining a far-right paramilitary group in Ukraine before becoming a U.S. Army soldier. in 2017. Then he boasted on a Facebook chat about the possibility of building explosives "in the style of Afghans," the court said documents presented.
Then, about a month ago, Smith began talking to the FBI confidential source and an undercover federal agent. He argued in an online chat group that planned an attack in the US, said he was looking for other "radicals" and suggested attacking the leftist group Antifa, cell towers and a local news station, authorities say. Separately, Smith suggested that a vehicle bomb could be used to attack "the headquarters of a major US news network," and gave advice on the construction of explosives.
Army Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, director of public affairs for the 1st Infantry Division in Kansas, confirmed that Smith is an active duty soldier. He said the Army cooperated with the FBI in its investigation.
"These accusations violate our army values, so we take them very seriously," Kelley said in the statement. "Our law enforcement team cooperated with the FBI in their arrest over the weekend."
CNN's Jamie Crawford contributed to this news.
