Former Marine accused of planning Christmas attack blames Trump decision on Jerusalem

A former U.S. Marine charged Friday with planning a terrorist attack in San Francisco cited President Trump’s decision to name Jerusalem as the Israeli capital as a motivating factor behind the attack, according to court documents.

Everitt Aaron Jameson, an ex-Marine sharpshooter who converted to Islam after being discharged, left behind a signed note citing the controversial decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The note, seized by federal investigators after obtaining a search warrant for Jameson’s home, contained his will and an admission that he committed the acts that he planned to execute, according to a local ABC affiliate. 

The FBI arrested Jameson before he could carry out the attack.

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Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognize that city as Israel’s capital sparked violent backlash in the Middle East.

Palestinian leaders also claim a portion of Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Jameson, who shared the details of his planned attack on a San Francisco pier with an FBI agent posing as a jihadist operative, wrote “long live [the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant]” in the note. 

The Muslim convert planned to use a combination of explosives, firearms and a vehicle to carry out his attack on the pier on Christmas Day, which he claimed was “the perfect day to commit the attack,” according to the agent’s affidavit. 

Jameson was charged on Friday for the planned attack, and could face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.