FBI Arrests Texas Teen Accused of Plotting to Kill Anti-Sharia Rep. Keith Self and Launch an ISIS Attack

A 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas, is sitting in federal custody, accused of planning to assassinate Rep. Keith Self at a local event last Saturday and to carry out a terror attack in North Texas on behalf of ISIS. The FBI arrested him on Oct. 5, after he acquired a firearm, federal law enforcement sources told WFAA, the Dallas station that broke the story Wednesday.

Self is a Republican who represents his hometown of McKinney and the rest of Texas's 3rd District in Congress. He is also the House's loudest voice against Sharia law. He co-founded the Sharia-Free America Caucus with Rep. Chip Roy, and last month he filed a resolution denouncing Sharia and opposing its use anywhere in the United States.

Sources told WFAA the teen had recently been radicalized and was already being watched by federal agents. Investigators had information that he may have planned to shoot Self at the Oct. 17 event, Breitbart News reported exclusively. He has been charged, but because he is a juvenile, his name and the exact charges have not been released.

'If it walks like a duck'

Asked whether his fight against radical Islam made him a target, Self didn't dance around it. "If it's ISIS related, you kind of have to believe that. I can't prove that. I don't know that for sure. But you have to follow the [old saying] if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck," he told WFAA.

His public statement made clear he sees the threat as part of the job. "Preserving our constitutional republic from radical Islam means accepting the costs that come with it—name-calling, threats, and worse," Self wrote. "I served 25 years in the military because defending freedom was worth the sacrifice. This only strengthens my resolve. I will not back down."

Self, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served three terms as Collin County judge before Congress, told CBS News Texas that by the time Capitol Police called him, "they had him." He was told the teen had planned to "perhaps try to shoot at me" and to stage a terror attack. He has had threats before, he said, "but not to this degree and not any that action was taken by law enforcement."

The FBI moved first this time

Self also gave the bureau credit that is not often heard. "So often we hear that somebody does something and then you find out later that the FBI had him on some sort of watch list and didn't take action," he told CBS News Texas. "So I am very grateful that the FBI took action in this case."

That is the difference between a smoke detector that beeps and one that also calls the fire department. Too many attackers in recent years turned out to be names already sitting in a file. This one was picked up after he got a gun, nearly two weeks before the day investigators say he meant to use it.

Why Self is in the crosshairs

Self has spent the past year saying out loud what most of Washington won't. In a November 2025 House floor speech, he warned that Sharia is dangerous and incompatible with a Constitution that begins with "We the People." His caucus, launched in December 2025, had grown to 68 House members from 25 states by June. He has also filed the Preserving Our Constitution Act, which would bar U.S. courts from enforcing religious or foreign laws that conflict with the Constitution.

The fight is personal in McKinney. In August, over protests from residents, the city council approved the McKinney Islamic Association's plans for a new mosque and Islamic center, WFAA noted. The vote was 7-0 for a 32,573-square-foot building, the Dallas Express reported. Self has warned that Middle Eastern money is building "Sharia compounds" across North Texas, and he told CBS the teen was "somehow under the influence of the things that we see happening in Texas and certainly in McKinney."

A pattern of ISIS plots against government

The McKinney case is not the first this year. On Aug. 19, the FBI arrested Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, New York, as she took possession of what she believed was an explosive, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors allege she planned to bomb the New York State Capitol and "kill the senators while they are meeting," then flee to ISIS territory in Syria. Now a teenager in a Dallas suburb allegedly went from ISIS material to a gun and a plan to kill a congressman.

Self's Democratic opponent, Evan Hunt, condemned the plot and said "Political violence must be condemned without hesitation or excuses, no matter who is targeted." Self is seeking a third term on Nov. 3. The FBI has not commented publicly. Self, for his part, is still campaigning on the same message that apparently made him a target.