May 10, 2021
CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio man has been convicted in an alleged plot to ambush and kidnap law enforcement officers responding to a false distress call.
A federal jury on Friday convicted 21-year-old Christian Ferguson of Cleveland of two counts of attempted kidnapping.
Ferguson was arrested in May 2020 after authorities alleged that he made “violent and extremist” posts in a chat room and spoke of making a false emergency call to lure officers to a “remote location” and take their weapons and body armor. Authorities alleged that his ultimate goal was to “start an uprising.”
Prosecutors alleged that Ferguson and two informants met in Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a “dry run,” FBI authorities said in court documents.