The FBI has arrested and charged a 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas, for allegedly planning to assassinate U.S. Representative Keith Self and carry out an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in North Texas.
The juvenile was taken into custody on October 5 after acquiring a firearm, according to federal sources. He remains in federal custody; his name has not been released, according to WFAA.
Federal investigators said the recently radicalized teen, who was already under monitoring, planned to target Self at an event last Saturday and conduct a broader attack in the region on behalf of ISIS.
Self, a House Freedom Caucus member and co-founder of the Sharia-Free America Caucus, has been one of Congress’s most vocal opponents of political Islam and Sharia law.
In a statement to WFAA, Self said:
“Protecting our Constitutional Republic from radical Islam is getting messy. I served in the military for 25 years with the mindset that defending freedom was worth the sacrifice. Our elected leaders should govern with that same mindset.” When asked whether his positions on radical Islam may have made him a target, he replied that “if it’s ISIS related, you kind of have to believe that… if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”
Self later posted on X that he is grateful to the FBI for stopping the threat, that he and his family are safe, and that the incident only strengthens his resolve:
“I am grateful to the FBI and law enforcement for stopping this threat. My family and I are safe, and I remain focused on serving the people of Texas’ 3rd District.
Preserving our constitutional republic from radical Islam means accepting the costs that come with it—name-calling, threats, and worse.
Our Founders believed this country was worth the sacrifice. I served 25 years in the military because defending freedom was worth the sacrifice. This only strengthens my resolve. I will not back down.”
I am grateful to the FBI and law enforcement for stopping this threat. My family and I are safe, and I remain focused on serving the people of Texas’ 3rd District.
Preserving our constitutional republic from radical Islam means accepting the costs that come with it—name-calling, threats, and worse.
Our Founders believed this country was worth the sacrifice. I served 25 years in the military because defending freedom was worth the sacrifice. This only strengthens my resolve. I will not back down. https://t.co/FdUMUQ7wk6
— Rep. Keith Self (@RepKeithSelf) October 21, 2026
This is not an isolated concern in Self’s district. In August, the McKinney City Council voted 7-0 to approve a large new Islamic center and mosque complex (roughly 32,000 square feet on a multi-acre site) despite hours of heated public opposition, warnings about political Islam, and Self’s direct testimony urging the council to honor its constitutional oath and resist what he described as the progression from accommodation to intimidation.
The Gateway Pundit previously covered the raucous meeting, including the testimony of an Iranian Christian Sharia survivor who warned council members they would regret ignoring people who had lived under the system, and the outrage after the unanimous approval. Self has repeatedly argued that Sharia is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution and Western values.
Self co-founded the Sharia-Free America Caucus with Rep. Chip Roy in December 2025; it has since grown to dozens of members.
He has introduced the Preserving Our Constitution Act to bar federal courts from recognizing or enforcing foreign or religious laws (including Sharia-based practices) that conflict with the Constitution, and he recently filed a concurrent resolution denouncing Sharia and affirming the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.
His district sits in the middle of rapid growth in Islamic institutions in North Texas, a pattern he and others have flagged as a long-term challenge to American legal and cultural norms.
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The case fits a pattern of recent ISIS-linked activity in Texas and elsewhere that federal authorities have disrupted, often involving young men radicalized online.
While the suspect’s name remains sealed, the plot’s targeting of a specific anti-Sharia lawmaker who has fought the expansion of a major Islamic center in the same city underscores the real-world stakes of the debate Self has been leading in Congress.
