Frank R. James, the man that the police in New York City tracked down and arrested over suspicion of firing over 30 rounds into a crowded subway station on Tuesday, is charged with terrorism.
Prosecutors said on Wednesday afternoon that James faces federal charges for a terrorist or violent attack on public transit after shooting 10 people and leaving at least 19 others injured in a horror attack on a Brooklyn subway during Tuesday’s rush hour.
James will be charged under a statute that outlaws terrorism and violent attacks in mass transit systems. He will appear in court on Thursday and faces life in prison if convicted.
One of the curiosities surrounding his arrest is the fact that James himself called in the tip that led to his own arrest.
After spending 30 hours on the run following Tuesday’s subway shooting, James reportedly called CrimeStoppers on Wednesday to say he was at a McDonald’s in Manhattan, after which he was taken into custody without incident.
Although the motive behind the attack remains unknown, disturbing YouTube videos emerged showing James’s ranting about Mayor Eric Adams, gun violence, the subway system, and NYC’s mental health system.
US Attorney Breon Peace said that there was no indication James had ties to terrorist organizations, domestic or international, but he has a long prior criminal history dating back to the early 1990s, with 12 arrests in New York and New Jersey for burglary, larceny, trespassing, criminal sex act, and theft.
Newsweek also reported that James was flagged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a potential terrorist and put on a watchlist, only to clear him in 2019 after multiple interviews. That also sparked inquiries as to how and why the FBI might place or remove someone from a watchlist.
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