Christian Ferguson, Kidnapping Plot, Ohio 2021

Christian Ferguson Found Guilty in Kidnapping Plot

A federal jury in Ohio has found Christian Ferguson, 21, of Cleveland, guilty of two counts of attempted kidnapping.

According to court records, Ferguson devised a plan to ambush and kidnap law enforcement officers responding to a false distress call in order to start an uprising. He placed a fake distress call to lure responding officers to the scene, where he intended to violently attack them, steal their department-issued weapons and equipment, and incite various militias to similarly attempt to overthrow the U.S. government and its institutions.

Ferguson's plan was to lure law enforcement to a remote location, where he would murder as many as he could in hopes of starting an 'uprising'. He attempted to recruit others to assist him in this cowardly and despicable act.

The FBI received a call-in complaint from a civilian in April 2020 regarding several violent and extremist online postings made by Ferguson in a chatroom. The FBI introduced a confidential human source into the chatroom, which was controlled by Ferguson, and he further discussed the plot in the chatroom in greater detail.

Ferguson expressed an interest in a response by federal law enforcement officers to the phony distress call because he believed they had better quality firearms and body armor to steal. He made statements about tactical options for killing multiple targets and the disposal of their bodies.

Ferguson is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2021, before U.S. Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. This case was investigated by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Rangers and the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/cleveland-man-found-guilty-plot-ambush-and-kidnap-law-enforcement-officers