PRESS RELEASE

Waterville Man Faces Up to 15 Years for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

Friday, April 7, 2023

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maine

BANGOR, Maine:  A Waterville man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor today to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

According to court records, beginning in November 2021, Xavier Pelkey, 19, conspired with two minors, one located in Chicago and one in Canada, to conduct a mass shooting at a Shia mosque in the Chicago area. Pelkey and his coconspirators were subscribers to a radical form of Sunni Islam and supporters of the foreign terrorist organization the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Pelkey planned to contribute firearms, ammunition and explosives to be used in the attack.

In February 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at Pelkey’s Waterville residence and discovered three handmade explosive devices. Investigators observed a hand-painted version of the flag used by ISIS on the wall of Pelkey’s bedroom and recovered written statements intended to be released just prior to the planned attack claiming the attack in the name of ISIS. 

Pelkey faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI investigated the case.

U.S. Department of Justice Press Release