US Attorney Lee Bentley announced the arrest on Thursday. Goldberg, 20, was charged with alleged "illegal distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction." The distribution of such material is considered a federal crime.
According to the criminal complaint, FBI Special Agent William Berry was conducting an investigation into the attack on the May 2015 Mohammed Art Exhibit and Contest in Garland, Texas, when he tracked down a Twitter account called "Australi Witness," which was posting tweets calling for an attack on the exhibition.
The Twitter user posted maps of the center and called for people to attack "with your weapons, bombs, or knives." Berry also found a statement by Australi Witness that implied he was in Australia and working with contacts in the US to carry out attacks.
Joshua Ryne Goldberg: 9/11 Bomb Plot Targeting Kansas City, Missouri Mimicked Boston Marathon Bombing: The FBI... http://t.co/OfPZXbZY1gโ Diana Tsang (@DianaTsang1) September 11, 2015
The FBI said in the complaint that Goldberg also used the name "AusWitness" and was in daily contact with an FBI informant, or confidential human source (CHS), through direct messages from July of 2015.
AusWitness sent the CHS five links to websites on how to manufacture a bomb during their exchange, according to the FBI. During their discussions, the CHS proposed targeting the upcoming memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, which will commemorate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the complaint said. The event is to be attended by the general public and firefighters.
The complaint went on to say that AusWitness instructed the CHS to make a pressure cooker bomb and fill it with nails, metal, and other items dipped in rat poison. He also allegedly instructed the CHS to plant the bomb at the memorial event close to the crowd and to make sure it was well hidden.
BOMB PLOT DETAILS: Joshua Ryne Goldberg instructed an informant to plot a pressure bomb at @KCStairClimb in #KCMO pic.twitter.com/yiyFYtLuhA โ Andres Gutierrez (@AFGutierrez) September 10, 2015
Berry said Goldberg's identity was tracked down by the IP address associated with AusWitness and another identity Goldberg revealed as "AusSecret," which was tracked to Goldberg's family home in Florida.
Information from the Australian Federal Police revealed that an informant identified as LM had told them that Australi Witness was Joshua Goldberg, an "online troll" and "proponent of radical free speech," who was responsible for "hoax events" on the internet.
The FBI conducted surveillance on Goldberg's family home and arrested him on September 9.
Police arrest 'Australian jihadist', turns out to be, 20 yo Jewish American, Joshua Ryne Goldberg - http://t.co/tH3k6WxX79 ht: @dylanwelch โ Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) September 11, 2015
In the complaint, the FBI said Goldberg allegedly waived his rights and spoke to law enforcement, admitting he was behind AusSecret, AusWitness and Australi Witness, and that he had sent out the message calling for an attack on the Mohammed Art Exhibition and Contest.
He allegedly also admitted that he sent bomb manufacturing instruction links to the CHS, claiming "that he intended for the individual (CHS) to either kill himself creating the bomb or, if not, that he intended to alert law enforcement just prior to the individual detonating the bomb, resulting in Joshua Goldberg to receive credit for stopping the attack," the complaint said.
If convicted, Goldberg faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
@wjxt4 @WJXTScottJ BREAKING: Florida terror suspect claims link to Texas gunmen who attacked cartoon event http://t.co/I1kYqJmLbY โ James Valles (@jamesvalles) September 10, 2015
Comment: Smells like maybe another FBI setup: Former U.S. Intelligence officer: 'Every terrorist attack in the U.S. was a false-flag or egged on by the government'