Jarrett William Smith: An American soldier "discussed the information network on bombing"



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The FBI has arrested an American army soldier suspected of sharing instructions via social media about bomb making.

Jarrett William Smith reportedly suggested using a car bomb to attack a major US press network.

Prosecutors have written online about the willingness to fight for a far-right group in Ukraine.

The private first class group also suggested killing members of the far-left Antifa group, according to the FBI.

The infantry soldier, based in Fort Riley, Kansas, was arrested on Saturday and accused of disseminating information relating to weapons of mass destruction.

According to indictment documents, Smith had been in contact since 2016 with another American, Craig Lang, who had traveled to Ukraine to fight for a paramilitary nationalist group, the Right Sector.

Mr. Smith is reported to have talked with Mr. Lang about the bombing of Facebook.

"Oh yes, I've been aware of the trapped gears [improvised explosive devices] for days, "Smith said on December 8, 2018, according to the documents.

"We can make IEDs on mobile phones the way Afghans do, I can teach you."

The suspect was looking for other "radicals"

In subsequent online discussions with an FBI source in August and September of this year on the Telegram app, Mr. Smith spoke of the possibility of "making a big bomb" to attack the seat of a chain unspecified US television.

The name of the Democratic presidential candidate, Beto O. Rourke, would also have been evoked during one of the conversations.

At one point, the FBI source asked if Mr. Smith could think of anyone in Texas who might be worth attacking, according to prosecution documents.

Mr. Smith is quoted as saying, "Apart from Beto, I do not know enough people who would be relevant to bringing about a change in case of death."

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On August 19, Mr. Smith reportedly told the FBI informant that he was looking to meet other "radicals" like him.

Two days later, he explained how to make bombs from common household ingredients.

He reportedly gave FBI sources advice on the manufacture of an explosive device that could be triggered by a mobile phone.

"Be careful with the fully armed device," he would have written.

"There have been cases where insurgents in the Middle East built these bombs only to detonate prematurely because telemarketers or people with fake numbers called the devices without knowing it."

According to the prosecutors, the suspect admitted to providing information to people in online chat rooms about bomb manufacturing.

He said he gave instructions to make bombs so as to cause "chaos," the investigators said.

Mr. Smith is risking up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

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