Suspect in planned Christmas attack on Pier 39 will stay in Fresno County Jail for now

The Modesto man accused of planning a Christmas terror attack on San Francisco’s Pier 39 made his second appearance in Fresno federal court Thursday afternoon.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean decided to detain Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, on basis of danger, and he was sent back to the Fresno County Jail where he’s been held without bail since Dec. 22, when he made his first appearance in the Fresno federal court.

Jameson was arrested Dec. 19. The FBI said he had embraced “radical jihadi beliefs” and posted pro-ISIS items on social media.

Jameson targeted Pier 39, a popular tourist destination because he “he had been there before” and determined it would allow him to “funnel” people into a location where he could inflict many casualties, the FBI says in court papers. He had no escape plan because he planned to die.

The FBI says Jameson was inspired by the terrorist attack by a truck driver on Halloween in New York City, and by the San Bernardino shooting attack in 2015 that left 14 dead.

Jameson told an undercover agent “I have been trained in combat and things of war.”

In 2009, Jameson attended U.S. Marine basic recruit training and obtained a sharpshooter rifle qualification before being discharged for fraudulent enlistment, according to court papers. Jameson failed to disclose a latent asthma history.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Suspect in planned Christmas attack on Pier 39 will stay in Fresno County Jail for now."