The FBI arrested a 17-year-old from McKinney on Oct. 5 for allegedly plotting to assassinate U.S. Rep. Keith Self, who represents Prosper, Celina and the rest of Texas' 3rd Congressional District.

The suspect was also accused of planning a terrorist attack in North Texas on behalf of ISIS, according to Gov. Greg Abbott, who confirmed the arrest in a statement Oct. 22. The teenager remains in federal custody, Abbott said.

Self, a McKinney Republican, told The Dallas Morning News that U.S. Capitol Police first called his chief of staff several days after the arrest. The initial call left the impression the teenager had made a verbal threat but had been arrested for something else, Self said.

"All they told us was the threat was against me and it was real," Self said.

Self said he believes the intended target was a veterans' chili cook-off fundraiser scheduled for Oct. 17 in McKinney. It was the only widely publicized event on his schedule that day, he said. Authorities had not identified the event to him as a target, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Self's campaign told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth that investigators believed the teen had been planning to target Self at the cook-off, which involved former Dallas Cowboys players and other prominent guests. In an Oct. 31 post on X, Self identified the event as the Collin County Veterans' Chili Cook-Off, hosted by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1122 and American Legion Post 96. In his earlier interview with the Dallas Morning News, he described it as a cook-off at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in McKinney.

Federal law enforcement sources told WFAA the suspect was arrested after acquiring a firearm. Those sources said the teenager had recently become radicalized and was under federal surveillance. The FBI's Dallas office has not publicly confirmed details of the alleged plot or the arrest, according to multiple news outlets.

The suspect's name has not been released. CBS News Texas reported that a federal judge will decide whether the suspect is tried as an adult.

Despite the alleged threat, Self attended the Oct. 17 fundraiser as planned.

"I judged 19 different chilies and three different pots of beans," he told NBC 5. "It was a delightful time and nothing, of course, happened."

Self said his military background shaped his response. He told NBC 5 he increased security and continued campaigning during early voting.

"We knew there were threats, but nothing has risen to the level of an arrest," Self said. "That's what makes this different."

Authorities have not publicly identified a motive. Self said he believes he was targeted because of his co-founding of the Sharia-Free America Caucus in Congress and his public opposition to a mosque expansion in McKinney. Investigators had not confirmed that theory, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Evan Hunt, Self's Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 general election, condemned the alleged plot in a statement. Hunt said political violence "must be condemned without hesitation or excuses, no matter who is targeted," according to Fox 4.

The Long War Journal reported the arrest marked the eighth Islamic State-linked case or incident in the United States in 2026 and the fourth such arrest in two months.