ISIS supporter scouted Oklahoma football stadium for terrorist attack: authorities

A man who pledged his loyalty to terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) scouted the Oklahoma Sooners’ football stadium for a possible attack, according to The Oklahoman.

The man is awaiting sentencing for the plot.

Landon Kyle Swinford sent a text message to an undercover officer in September 2023 after attending a Sooners football game with his grandparents, saying he “looked at the barricades and security and thought the stadium could be a potential target for an attack.”

Swinford then personally scouted the stadium with the undercover cop the following month.

The latter was covertly posing as an ISIS supporter and in his cover capacity said he wanted to see if Swinford was “for real,” according to a memo.

Later that month, Swinford told the FBI that he scouted the stadium and would have carried out an attack if he could afford the financial costs.

Swinford ceased communicating with the undercover officer in October 2023, when he allegedly told his parents he was in direct communication with ISIS.

He is also accused of sharing ISIS propaganda and making terrorist threats.

Swinford is facing charges of child pornography and communicating a threat about bombing a synagogue, The Oklahoman reported.

A federal grand jury indicted Swinford the following July and he pleaded guilty to the charges that November.

No sentencing date has been formalized, but the maximum prison sentence for these charges is 25 years if found guilty.

Despite his not being convicted of a federal crime, prosecutors have argued the U.S. District Judge could consider Swinford’s support for ISIS in determining his fate.

Swinford’s designs against the Oklahoma football stadium wasn’t the only attack he had in mind, according to the report.

He also told the FBI that he researched butane and propane-based explosions in addition to potential targets in New Orleans, including the Mardi Gras celebrations and a voodoo temple.

(The Oklahoman)

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