Bond denied for Williamsburg man accused of lying to the military

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - A man accused of lying to the military about where he traveled is due in court on Tuesday afternoon.

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Shavim Patel was arrested and is charged with making a false statement, a felony.

Shivam Patel is scheduled to have a detention hearing in federal court.

Court documents say FBI agents interviewed Patel's parents last August and they told the agents that he had become "obsessed with Islam." Patel left Virginia last summer to go teach English in China, but told his father he was unhappy with the country's treatment of Muslims.

Patel was scheduled to return to Virginia last August, but then texted his parents saying he was going to Jordan. Shortly after, officials in Jordan told the FBI they were going to deport Patel. On the day he boarded a flight back to the US, court documents say Patel told an undercover employee he wanted to commit jihad. While he suggested the jihad may not be violent, he praised other terrorist attacks, according to the criminal affidavit. It's not clear who the employee was.

Once he landed in the US, FBI agents interviewed Patel where he talked about his admiration for ISIS, but also said he "was not sure about some of ISIS's methods," according to court documents. He also said after the success of terrorist attacks in Paris and Orlando he "went to the gym and worked out hard," the court documents say.

Court documents say he also told the agent he hates gay people and said, "I hope you didn't feel bad for them," when referring to the Orlando club massacre.

As the investigation continued, FBI agents developed a confidential human source. Patel told the source he wanted to do something "glorious," but didn't want to make his parents sad, according to the court documents.

Last September, he moved back into his parents house in Williamsburg and began applying for jobs with police departments, correctional facilities, probation offices, fire departments, and the military.

During an interview with an Army recruiter, Patel lied about where he traveled, according to the court documents. He told the recruiter he had only visited family in India, but didn't mention other trips, they say. The court documents say he also made the same false statement on a form for the Air Force.

Bond was denied and the U.S. attorney said he is under investigation for a more serious terrorism charge.