‘Islamic State supporter’ charged with terrorism in Las Vegas

A Las Vegas resident who wrote in a chat room that he would “act alone in Las Vegas against the enemies of Allah” was indicted by a Clark County grand jury on four separate counts of terrorism and explosives on Friday.

Joshua Robles – who was a minor at the time of his arrest in November 2023, according to an arrest report – had extensive knowledge of the Islamic State, attempted to communicate with members of the group and had explosive components in his bedroom, police said.

Robles was arrested about 14 hours after authorities received a tip about the “Lone Wolf” post, which was published on Nov. 28, 2023, on an online platform called Element, court documents show.

“I am a supporter of the Islamic State and I will make sure the Zionists in this city know it,” the post continued, according to the documents.

A Metropolitan Police Department officer who investigated the post believed the author “wanted to commit acts of violence against perceived enemies of ISIS and their religious doctrine and that the acts of violence would take place in the Las Vegas area,” the police report said.

Authorities quickly suspected that Robles had posted the mail, located his home and gone there, the report said.

According to court documents, officers searched Robles' home and discovered five items in his bedroom that “could be used as components to build an explosive device.”

Robles told police that he was the author of the post and that he knew that the members of the chatroom where the post was published were Islamic State supporters. According to court documents, he added that he had been in the chatroom for about a year.

“He stated that he did not plan an attack, but wrote the post as a 'troll' or to provoke an angry or fearful reaction from the reader,” the police report said.

Contact Peter Breen at [email protected]. Follow @breenreports on X.