The FBI arrested the son of Boston police Capt. Robert Ciccolo in a counter-terrorism operation conducted to prevent an Islamic State-inspired plot.
ABC reported Adam Ciccolo was arrested on July 4 after he purchased four guns from an undercover FBI informant. The 23-year-old was a recent convert to Islam and went by the name Abu Ali al-Amriki.
Ciccolo previously participated in the "No More Fukushimas" Peace Walk in 2012.
"It has been proven time and time again that humans do not have the capability to control the long-term effects of nuclear power," the left-wing group said in a statement. "Nuclear power is not sustainable from environmental, human rights, or economic standpoints."
"Nuclear power and nuclear weapons for years have crippled societies. Native American societies, Asian societies, Middle Eastern, all of them are affected by nuclear weapons and nuclear power," Ciccolo told a local paper. "All of us are affected by it. If we don't stop using them then we're not going to be able to live on this earth anymore."
Despite his "peace" protest of nuclear bombs, the FBI found that Ciccolo was building a bomb of his own to use against Americans.
Bomb-making equipment, notes titled "jihad" and "attack planning papers," partially constructed Molotov cocktails, and a "variety of chemicals" were found in his apartment. He reportedly told the FBI informant that the chemicals would "stick to people’s skin and make it harder to put the fire out."
The FBI alleges Ciccolo originally planned to launch an attack on both civilians and U.S. military and law enforcement personnel before changing his focus to a state school cafeteria where he planned to broadcast the execution of students live on the Internet. Ciccolo told the FBI informant he was inspired by the Tsarnaev brothers’ use of pressure-cooker bombs.
Ciccolo’s father was one of the first responders to the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013. The police captain warned authorities that his estranged son "was going off the deep end." He also warned his son was "spouting extremist jihadist sympathies." The younger Ciccolo praised IS terrorist attacks and decried America to the FBI cooperating witness.
Ciccolo is expected to be in a Springfield, Mass., court on Tuesday.