A Tennessee man was arrested after watching ISIS videos, and then lying about his stay at a mental institution when he tried to buy a sniper rifle, according to federal officials.
According to a federal indictment, federal agents began looking into Khari Malik Whitehead last year, after they talked to someone who knew him. That person told Metro Nashville Police they were concerned Whitehead was watching ISIS propaganda videos on the internet.
They also told the ATF Whitehead may have possibly been radicalized, and that they were afraid that he may commit a mass murder one day.
The indictment said Whitehead was committed to a mental institution late last year, but he lied about that in February on a background check form he filled out at the Walmart in La Vergne as he tried to buy a semi-automatic rifle. He asked to purchase a rifle that could "hold a lot of bullets"
However, the purchase didn't go through. His stay at the mental institution was picked up by the background check, and Whitehead was denied the purchase.
Whitehead's lie on the background check form was enough for federal prosecutors to file charges against him.
