An 18-year-old from suburban Denver, Colorado, appeared in federal court Monday on charges he attempted to provide support or resources to the Islamic State.
Davin Daniel Meyer was arrested Friday when he tried to board a flight to Ankara, Turkey, at Denver International Airport, according to court documents.
Meyer allegedly pledged an oath of allegiance to the leader of ISIS, according to an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, and he was planning to enroll as a fighter in Iraq for the terrorist organization. He sought out extremist content online and “openly discussed his violent intentions,” Joni Tangeman, an FBI task force officer wrote in the affidavit.
The affidavit notes that Meyer had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and other conditions and had received mental health treatment in 2021 and 2022, Tangeman wrote.
In November 2022, soon after his 18th birthday, Meyer began speaking online with who he believed to be an ISIS facilitator, but who was actually an FBI informant, the affidavit stated. Over the next few months, Meyer got a passport and money to travel, Tangeman stated. He booked a flight on June 23 for July 14 to travel from Denver to Ankara, Turkey, where he was planning to meet with ISIS members and go to Iraq from there.
The investigation began in June 2022, when the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was contacted about “concerning behavior and statements” that Meyer had made, the affidavit stated, after which the FBI was notified. The FBI later received information that Meyer had told someone that if he could not go to the Middle East, he planned to get fertilizer and build a bomb in the United States.
The sheriff’s office was not immediately available for comment. Meyer’s lawyer, David Kaplan, declined to comment Tuesday evening.
Meyer is scheduled for a detention hearing on Thursday. A preliminary examination will be held on July 31.
