A D.C. man arrested for drug charges earlier this month turned out to be an alleged ISIS sympathizer who was formerly under FBI scrutiny, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Jeremy Stevenson was charged with two counts of meth distribution and another two counts of using a phone to traffic drugs earlier this month. In a motion for pre-trial detention, prosecutors claimed Stevenson was a threat to the community and a flight risk due to his relations to ISIS efforts.
His internet searches from 2017 allegedly showed that he looked up “how to join ISIS,” and “ISIS cut off police head.” That same year, he also allegedly wore a mask and showed bar patrons images of the ISIS flag and “video depicting a beheading at the hands of an ISIS militant” on his cell phone.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stevenson sat down for two interviews with the FBI in the summer of 2017, in which he allegedly defended the terror group’s practice of beheading and likened the practice to the death penalty in the U.S. criminal justice system.
He also told agents he watched videos explaining ISIS’s “mission and purpose,” and spoke with “ISIS-connected individuals” over Facebook. Those individuals allegedly attempted to coax Stevenson to join, with one asking him if he was interested in carrying out a “mission in Washington, D.C.”
In 2018, he was arrested for skipping out on his Metro fare at D.C.’s Anacostia metro station. Stevenson allegedly threatened police officers and mysteriously alluded to some kind of allegiance abroad.
“I should go overseas and let them all fuck you up,” he said, according to police. “They're gonna come from other countries and kill all of you. I hope they do.”
Prosecutors recalled Stevenson raising his index finger in the air when asked to raise his right hand to be placed under oath during his initial court appearance earlier this month. That one-finger gesture is allegedly a “well-known symbol of support” for the terrorist group.
Regarding his drug charges, the government claimed the alleged terror sympathizer sold meth to an undercover official on “several occasions” this year. The government pointed to social-media posts of Stevenson appearing to own a gun, showing off marijuana, and cash. Stevenson pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
