South Park critic faces terrorist-link charge

The U.S. man who posted an online "warning" aimed at South Park creators because of episodes featuring the Prophet Muhammad has been arrested and charged with trying to join a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda.

Virginia man Zachary A. Chesser, 20, who is also known by the name Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, was arrested on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Chesser, who was previously known to the FBI, told federal agents that he had tried on two occasions to travel to Somalia to join the group al-Shabab most recently on July 10, when he was barred from a New York to Uganda flight after turning up on the no-fly list.

Four days after that attempt, Chesser told the FBI he had changed his mind after the group claimed responsibility for a July 11 bombing in Uganda that killed more than 75 people watching the World Cup, according to an FBI affidavit.

'Warning' after South Park broadcast

In April, Chesser was identified as the individual who posted anonline "warning" to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone after the initial broadcast of a two-episode storyline of the irreverent animated TV show. Theepisode in question poked fun at several religions, including depicting the Prophet Muhammad dressed in a bear costume.

Chesser's warning, posted on the website revolutionmuslim.com, suggested that the duo could face the same fate as Theo van Gogh, the Dutch filmmaker killed by an extremist after releasing a movie critical of the treatment of Muslim women.

At the time, Chesser said his online posting was not a threat.

Comedy Central, which broadcasts South Park, eventually aired a modified version of the second episode, substituting Santa Claus in a bear costume andbleeping out a speech about intimidation and fear, according to Parker and Stone.

In the FBI affidavit, Chesser acknowledged that his parents stopped speaking to him after they received death threats following his online posting.

Chesser is slated to appear in U.S. Federal Court in Alexandria, Va. on Thursday to face charges of providing material support to a terrorist group.