Zachary Adam Chesser, a 20-year-old Virginia native suspected of trying to go to Somalia to join the terrorist organization Al-Shabab, is now reported by The Washington Post newspaper to have been an anime fan in high school who studied Japanese and visited Japan during his senior year, shortly before his conversion to Islam. His fandom is one of several examples of his interest in other cultures, including his presence as the only non-Korean in his high school's break dancing club and his attendance at the Muslim Student Association (MSA) meetings, also before his conversion.

After he graduated high school and converted, Chesser returned to the school's MSA to give a speech in which he preached that those who wore casual clothing were disobeying Muslim law and would be sentenced to hell. In another about-face, a childhood friend of Chesser recalls that they often talked about enjoying the American animated television series
South Park on the bus to their middle school, but Chesser is now accused of sending threats to the show's creators for their comedic depiction of the prophet Muhammad.

Chesser has been ordered to remain in jail until his trial.