North Carolina Congressman Warns of Rising Terror Threat as ISIS Plot Foiled

By Eric Mack | Friday, 02 January 2026 09:50 PM EST

The United States does not stand for terrorism, but it is now more vulnerable to it than ever, Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told reporters after the FBI foiled what it said was an ISIS-inspired terror plot in his district.

“I think we all understand — and we need to understand if we don’t — that radical Islam focuses and teaches on harming innocent people, which is just the opposite of what we stand for in our United States Constitution, which protects the liberty of all people,” Harris told reporters during a Friday evening interview.

Harris said he was stunned by details revealed in an FBI press conference Friday morning.

“It was shocking that this was an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack planned right here in North Carolina,” Harris said.

The congressman also highlighted concerns about the radicalization of young Americans online and said families can be the first line of defense, while noting failures in the state’s involuntary commitment process that nearly allowed the suspect to go free.

“There was an interesting thing that was pointed out by the U.S. attorney today, and that was that they actually tried to get him committed, involuntarily committed, earlier in the week through a state magistrate,” Harris said. “And unfortunately, the state magistrate would not do it.”

“But I was thankful the FBI did not step back, but continued until a federal magistrate was able to take action on what they had.”

“So we’ve got a lot of issues here that we’ve got to consider here in North Carolina and make sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” he said.