The FBI arrested Everitt Aaron Jameson, a tow truck driver from Modesto. They say he planned to target Pier 39. The 26-year-old reportedly stated that "Christmas was the perfect day" for a terror attack in San Francisco and "did not need an escape plan because he was ready to die."
According to a handwritten letter obtained by the FBI, Jameson also referred to himself as Abdallah adu Everitt ibn Gordon.
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According to FBI documents, Jameson picked out that location because he "had been there before and knew it was a heavily crowded area." He added that it would be easy to "funnel" people into an area where he could inflict casualties.
Jameson is charged with attempting to supply support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically the Islamic State. According to FBI documents, he posted and liked pro-ISIS and pro-terrorism content on Facebook.
A criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent alleged Jameson posted radical jihadist messages online and suggested the use of his tow truck for "the cause."
Jameson also expressed support for the Halloween terror attack in New York City involving a truck. That attack killed eight people.
On Nov. 2, days after the New York City attack, Jameson allegedly told an FBI informant, "I'm glad to know we Muslims are finally hitting back. Allahu Akbar! The Kuffar deserve everything and more the lives they have taken," the complaint said.
FBI agents also allege Jameson communicated with more than one undercover agent. In meeting with one of the agents, Jameson expressed his belief that the U.S. "needed another attack like New York or San Bernardino," according to the FBI complaint, and Jameson said he wanted to use both vehicles and firearms to carry out an attack.
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Jameson allegedly named the popular pier in San Francisco for an attack possibly involving explosives on Christmas Day, according to the FBI.
"Jameson said he would go to the mountains to build bombs for the attack," the FBI alleged in the complaint.
"He wrote a letter stating among other things: 'You all have brought this upon yourselves. There are no innocent Kuffar! Each and every Kuffar in this Nationalistic, Godless society has a hand in this. You've allowed Donald J Trump to give away Al Quds to the Jews. Both You and he are wrong, it belongs to the Muslemeen,'" The FBI complaint said.
According to the FBI, Jameson told an undercover agent on Dec. 18, "I also don't think I can do this after all. I've reconsidered," after an agent mistakenly called him from a Washington, D.C. phone number.
Jameson's home was raided by FBI agents Dec. 20, where they allegedly found a "martyrdom letter" along with several guns.
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The FBI said Jameson told agents during the raid that he supported ISIS and planned an attack, and that he "would be happy if an attack was carried out," according to the complaint.
Jameson was trained as a basic recruit in the Marine Corps in 2009 and graduated with a "sharpshooter" qualification, but was later discharged for not disclosing a medical history of asthma, according to the FBI.
ABC7 News in San Francisco contacted officials at Pier 39 to ask for a response. They say they did not know about this plot.
ABC News contributed to this report.