Court Case

USA v. Langhorne, Romeo Xavier

November 2019 (Updated July 8, 2022)
Roanoke, FL
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Romeo Xavier Langhorne was charged in a criminal complaint of "attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization." The complaint calls Langhorne "an ISIS supporter" who "has created and disseminated a video on how to make triacetone triperoxide, a deadly explosive." Much of the criminal complaint is dedicated to communications between Langhorne and an undercover FBI informant, who had been exchanging texts. The affidavit says the person working undercover created the video, "based on the ideas provided by Langhorne," on how to manufacture explosives from components found in common household items. The complaint says Langhorne posted the video on the website BitChute, but the investigative team included in the video a formula "that would be likely to appear to Langhorne to be the formula for TATP but, in fact, would produce an inert product. Langhorne pleaded guilty in May 2021 to attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS. Langhorne was sentenced in July 2022 to 20 years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Case Updates

2022-07-08 | Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Attempting To Provide Material Support To ISIS

Romeo Xavier Langhorne was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for attempting to provide material support to ISIS. He pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Florida to one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS in May 2021. Langhorne pledged his allegiance to ISIS at some point in 2014 knowing that ISIS was a designated foreign terrorist organization that engaged in acts of terrorism. Between 2018 and 2019, Langhorne reaffirmed his support of ISIS on various social media accounts, posted ISIS-produced videos to his YouTube account, and participated in online ISIS chat rooms with like-minded individuals. In December 2018 and January 2019, Langhorne expressed in one of those chat rooms an interest in creating a video that would improve on existing videos demonstrating the making and use of a deadly explosive, triacetone triperoxide (TATP). Langhorne was arrested at his residence in Roanoke, Virginia, in November 2019. Langhorne admitted in a post-arrest interview that he had "probably at some point" pledged allegiance to both ISIS and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who was the leader of ISIS from 2014 until his death on October 26, 2019. Langhorne admitted that he communicated with the UCE and that he uploaded the TATP video to the internet.

2021-05-13 | Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Provide Material Support and Resources to ISIS

Romeo Xavier Langhorne pleaded guilty today to attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS. According to court documents, Romeo Xavier Langhorne of St. Augustine, FL, pledged his allegiance to ISIS at some point in 2014, knowing that ISIS was a designated foreign terrorist organization and that they engaged in acts of terrorism. Throughout 2018 and 2019, Langhorne reaffirmed his support for ISIS on various social media accounts, as well as posted ISIS-produced videos to his YouTube account and participated in online chat rooms with like-minded individuals. In December 2018 and January 2019, Langhorne expressed in one of those chat rooms an interest in creating a video that would improve on existing videos demonstrating the making and use of a deadly explosive – triacetone triperoxide, also known as TATP.

Case Documents