I think it's pretty likely the FBI convinced him to attempt to carry out this attack, to the extent that he did. For one, that's pretty much the standard FBI ta

I think it's pretty likely the FBI convinced him to attempt to carry out this attack, to the extent that he did. For one, that's pretty much the standard FBI tactic - convince the mentally unwell to agree to something criminal and then arrest them for it. For another, the criminal complaint linked in the article kind of suggests this. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20612508-pendley-bleepingcomputer-complaint https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20612508-pendley-ble... Read points 18-21 especially though the whole thing is interesting. The guy starts by saying if he had cancer he'd drive a truck into these data centers and hope it would blow up 70% of the internet. The FBI guys then follow up with him "So are you going to do it yet", "Have you picked a target yet", and "I have some bombs you can use" (not exact quotes but approximate). When he drives out to take a look at the site they arrest him. Maybe this guy would've gone on to commit the same crime on his own. Maybe he would've connected with real terrorists who would've motivated him the same way the FBI did. I doubt it though - this is the FBI's retelling and we can kind of see hints of manipulation. Plus, the FBI arrests way more of these bombers than "get through". Is that because the FBI are hypervigilant and super effective, or because they are growing their own terrorists and arresting them?