Nicholas Teausant attended classes at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. His classmates are shocked that he was arrested on Monday morning near the Canadian border on terror charges, trying to get to the Middle East.
Last week, Teausant was interviewed about someone wearing a fake military uniform on the campus of Delta College. This week he's in federal custody accused of supporting terrorism.
Videos posted by Teausant on the Internet paint a picture of a young man fascinated with Al Qaida. In one video he said, "Allah is great… and the most wonderful planner. He's the best of planners."
Several videos on his YouTube page depict terrorist attacks against the U.S.
Teausant appeared in federal court Monday accused of exploring ways of supporting violent extremist activities and attempting to join Al Qaida.
Court documents say Teausant popped up on the FBI's radar last summer after he posted several terrorist messages on social media, including a plot to bomb the Los Angeles subway system. Undercover agents posing as extremists earned Teausant's trust.
He told agent, "I want my face on the FBI's Top 12 Most Wanted because that means I'm doing something right."
Teausant told informants he was trying to get to Syria to fight alongside Al Qaida.
Delta College student Sean Reily told ABC7 News, "It's really shocking someone at Delta would be known as probably a terrorist."
Teausant's classmates say he was quiet and like to play chess.
"He was a newly-converted Muslim, but he never really pushed it onto anybody. He never said anything, he was just normal," said Yonathan Admassu, a Delta College student.
Teausant's aunt in Lodi said, "All I know is that he moved back to California, he's been living with his mom."
Teausant joined the California National Guard in 2012, but never made it to boot camp after failing to meet education requirements.
