‘Islamic State supporter’ in Las Vegas indicted on terrorism charges
A Las Vegas resident who wrote in a chatroom that he would be “starting lone wolf operations in Las Vegas against enemies of Allah” was indicted by a Clark County grand jury Friday on terrorism- and explosives-related charges, according to court documents.
Joshua Robles — who was a juvenile at the time of his November 2023 arrest, according to an arrest report — had in-depth knowledge of the Islamic State group, sought to communicate with members of the group and had components of explosives in his bedroom, police said.
Robles was arrested about 14 hours after a tip was sent to authorities about the “lone wolf” post, which was published on Nov. 28, 2023, on an online platform called Element, according to court documents.
“I am a supporter of the Islamic State, and I will make sure the Zionists in this city know it,” the post also said, according to the documents.
A Metropolitan Police Department officer who investigated the post believed that the author “intended to carry out acts of violence against the perceived enemies of ISIS and their religious doctrine, and the violent acts would take place in the Las Vegas area,” according to the arrest report.
Authorities quickly suspected that Robles made the post, located his house and went to it, the report said.
Officers searched Robles’ home and discovered five items that could “be used as components to construct an explosive device” in his bedroom, according to court documents.
Robles would tell police that he was the post’s author and that he knew members of the chatroom where the post was published were supporters of the Islamic State group, adding that he had been in the chatroom for about a year, according to court documents.
“He stated he did not intend to carry out an attack, but had made the post as a ‘troll,’ or to provoke an angry or frightened reaction from the reader,” the arrest report said.
Contact Peter Breen at pbreen@reviewjournal.com. Follow @breenreports on X.