A teenager plotted to assassinate a Republican congressman from Texas on behalf of ISIS, according to federal agents.
A local ABC affiliate reported on Wednesday that the FBI had arrested a 17-year-old resident of McKinney for planning to kill Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, at an event earlier this month. The Texas congressman is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and co-founder of the Sharia-Free America Caucus, which seeks to bring “attention to concerns surrounding Sharia [law] and its incompatibility with the principles enshrined in the United States Constitution.”
Federal law enforcement sources who purportedly spoke with the outlet said the suspect was detained on Oct. 5 “after acquiring a firearm.” They further disclosed that the individual “had been radicalized recently and was being monitored by federal agents.”
“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,” Self wrote in a Wednesday X post responding to the news. “Preserving our constitutional republic from radical Islam means accepting the costs that come with it — name-calling, threats, and worse.”
Self told CBS News Texas that law enforcement notified him of the attempt on his life after they had the suspect in custody. The Texas Republican “said law enforcement informed him that the McKinney teenager had planned to make waves, ‘perhaps try to shoot at me,’ and carry out a terrorist attack,” according to the outlet.
Self introduced a concurrent resolution last month rejecting Sharia law and its implementation throughout the country. The congressman also sponsored legislation earlier this year ensuring American courts and “adjudicative bodies … do not recognize or enforce foreign laws, religious laws, customs, or practices that conflict with the Constitution of the United States and the laws made pursuant to it.”
McKinney, Texas, is one of the epicenters of Islamification in the United States. Local citizens recently unsuccessfully opposed the construction of a new mosque in a tumultuous town hall meeting. A separate Islamic organization recently publicized plans to replace a church with a 40,000-square-foot facility and hosted an event with a Muslim cleric who declared, “We want Islam for this country.”
The attempt on Self’s life is the latest act of violence against elected Republican figures.
President Donald Trump has been the subject of multiple assassination attempts throughout the past few years. One of the most recent instances came in April when a reported leftist barged past security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to allegedly harm the president and members of his cabinet.
A left-wing nutjob assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at a college speaking event last year. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot and nearly killed at a 2017 congressional baseball practice by a Bernie Sanders supporter.
Leftists have also made violent threats — and acts — against conservative Supreme Court justices and their families, ICE agents, and other GOP-aligned officials and figures.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood