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An Oklahoma man expressed interest in carrying out a terrorist attack at the University of Oklahoma football stadium in 2023, court documents show. Landon Kyle Swinford, who awaits sentencing on charges of child pornography and communicating a threat in interstate commerce, claimed loyalty to ISIS and identified Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium as a potential target.
A sentencing memo submitted in the Western District of Oklahoma lays out how Swinford communicated with an undercover officer about his desire to carry out terroristic acts. While attending a Sooners football game with his grandparents in September 2023, Swinford texted the undercover officer that the stadium’s barricades and security situation made it vulnerable to attack. Swinford and the undercover officer then scouted the stadium the following month.
According to the memo, Swinford repeatedly expressed a desire to go overseas to join ISIS, but his “backup plan” was an attack in the United States. When asked by the FBI in 2024 whether he would have carried out an attack in Norman, Oklahoma, if he possessed the financial means, Swinford replied, “Sadly, yes.”
Oklahoma’s stadium was not the only potential target for Swinford. He frequently texted the undercover officer about a possible attack in New Orleans and presented an idea to blow up the Voodoo Spiritual Temple during Mardi Gras.
Swinford was indicted in July 2024 and reached a plea deal to possession of child pornography and communicating a threat in interstate commerce.
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/man-claiming-loyalty-to-isis-scouted-oklahomas-football-stadium-for-terrorist-attack-per-court-records/
Author : Austin Nivison
Publish date : 2025-06-12 14:37:00
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