Teen admits trying to help ISIS. He discussed ‘lone wolf operations,’ police said

A North Las Vegas teen has admitted that he tried to assist Islamic State terrorism.

Joshua Robles, 19, pleaded guilty Oct. 26 to a count of attempt to provide material support for act(s) of terrorism or terrorist(s).

He was arrested in 2023 and ordered to be tried as an adult. Authorities accused him of collecting bomb-making components, plotting against Gov. Joe Lombardo and then-President Joe Biden and possessing ISIS execution videos on his phone.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys did not agree to a specific sentence but will be able to make arguments at his sentencing hearing.

“We’re happy to have the opportunity to present at his sentencing a fuller, more accurate picture of Joshua as a human being that the charges alone do not and cannot encapsulate,” public defenders Dan Cho and Robert O’Brien said in a statement. “Joshua is not an abstraction or a villain but a young man whose history and neurodivergence leave (him) particularly vulnerable and in need of care. We are lucky to have the privilege of knowing him and advocating for him.”

Prosecutors did not respond to requests for comment about the plea.

Grand jurors previously indicted Robles on counts including provide material support for terrorism, attempt to commit or cause terrorism and solicit another person to aid or further terrorism, as well as incendiary device charges.

“Peace be upon all brothers who see this. I am here to announce that I will be starting lone wolf operations in Las Vegas against the enemies of Allah. I ask you to make Dua for victory. I am a supporter of the Islamic State and I will make sure the zionists in this city know it,” police and prosecutors said Robles wrote in one November 2023 chatroom post.

Robles told police he did not plan to carry out an attack, but prosecutors argued that his actions indicated otherwise.

“By the end of November, (Robles) took steps towards actual violence,” prosecutor Tanner Sharp wrote in a motion. “(He) began dressing as an ISIS soldier, with a knife and flag. He collected explosive components to make pipe bombs. He began to name specific targets, including Governor Lombardo and President Biden.”

Prosecutors said he participated in a chatroom with ISIS supporters and told detectives he liked videos of ISIS executions. In his phone, Sharp alleged that Robles had the names of ISIS leaders, bomb-making instructions and a poem fantasizing about violence toward Jewish people.

Robles had been suspended from Cannon Junior High School in 2020 following staff and student reports that he threatened a school shooting, according to prosecutors.

Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill previously refused to release Robles onto electronic monitoring.

“Defendant is a radicalized Islamic terrorist and the Sheriff has concluded that releasing him under any circumstances would pose an unreasonable risk to public safety,” a notice, filed by Metro attorneys, said.

His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7.

Contact Noble Brigham at [email protected].