A Long Island man was detained for threatening to carry out a terrorist attack at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina, according to a police incident report.
On August 24, Thomas Brienza, 20, of Centereach, approached two officers at the airport’s ticketing area and said he was “nervous,” had “a bomb and a strap” on him, and had fentanyl in his car. He also said he did not want “any problems.” However, he then altered his account, as per the police.
He ultimately admitted to the police that he was not leaving and that he was waiting for a friend arriving from New York with another friend outside in his car, according to the police, who also noted that Brienza seemed “nervous” and was “mumbling his words.”
When challenged about the black Ray-Ban sunglasses that looked to be recording during the incident, Brienza acknowledged to filming, claiming it was for his YouTube channel and that he didn’t “really have a bomb.”
Brienza said to the police that he goes by “Thom the Troll” on TikTok and YouTube and makes films of himself making fun of cops, gas station employees, and other people he meets. According to the report, Brienza informed police that his main source of income is his YouTube channel and that he does not have a job. He also told police that he was unaware of “the severity of what he was doing when he made his initial statement.”
According to authorities, he was accused of possessing, threatening, or attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction for terrorist purposes. Officers warned Brienza’s friends that he may end up on the Transportation and Security Administration’s “no-fly” list and that the FBI might also become involved.
As his case is still in its early stages, Brienza did not enter a plea to address the accusation when he went before a bail judge following his detention, a court spokesman informed Patch. Online court records indicate that he was freed on a $100,000 bond with the requirement that he maintain no contact with the victim in question.
