From California to New Jersey, Muslim men are being arrested for supporting ISIS

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

From California to Kansas to New Jersey, young Muslim men are being arrested and charged with wide ranging plans to support Islamic terrorism and kill Americans.

The arrests are being made as Congress continues to highlight ongoing Islamic terrorist threats. The U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence addressed ongoing threats pointing to three high profile Islamic terrorist attacks that occurred in March alone.

The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security also published a “Terror Threat Snapshot” highlighting recent terrorist acts in the U.S. The majority are linked to or inspired by foreign terrorist organizations. They include those who’ve provided material support to ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS)), Hezbollah and al Queda, who received military level training from Hezbollah and al Queda, and whose stated inspiration is foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), The Center Square reported.

Islamic terrorist cases are being prosecuted by U.S. attorneys in at least 25 states.

The latest two are in New Jersey and Kansas.

On Monday, a Muslim man living in Wayne, New Jersey, Mohamed Sagha, 22, was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated FTO: ISIS. He made his initial appearance in federal court and was ordered detained.

“As alleged, the defendant sought to support ISIS and expressed interest in violence directed at targets within the United States, including places of worship,” U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Robert Frazer said. “Those who seek to advance the objectives of foreign terrorist organizations should expect a swift and coordinated response from federal law enforcement.”

According to the complaint, over the past six months, Sagha participated in online chat groups used by ISIS supporters to discuss potential terrorist attack targets in the U.S., including places of worship. Last October, he met an undercover law enforcement official who he believed was a member of ISIS and expressed his desire to attack a National Guard location or a Jewish place of worship, sharing images and videos of potential targets near his residence, the complaint alleges. He also repeatedly expressed a desire to travel to ISIS territory in Syria, failing to do so in March, authorities said. This month, he expressed further plans, leading to his arrest. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In another case, the FBI arrested three young men between the ages of 21 and 25 in Kansas City, Kansas, and San Diego, California. They were also charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorism after they sent more than $2,000 to an individual they believed was a member of ISIS, authorities said.

Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, (Kansas), Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, and Bereen Dzayee, 25, (both California) were arrested and charged in a complaint filed in the District of Kansas.

According to the charges, they bragged about committing a terrorist attack and killing U.S. service members, Jews and Americans.

Ghafoor “exclaimed it would be ‘sick’ if his name could be written on the drone used in an attack on Americans,” authorities allege. He also said, “he has always wanted to kill a female soldier by beheading, and added, ‘I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans,’” according to the charges. “Dzayee suggested that targets of drones should include U.S. Special Forces. Shamsaldeen expressed a desire to stab and injure a U.S. servicemember.”

“For years, the Department of Justice has been encouraging Americans that if they see suspicious activity, they should report it to law enforcement. That’s because long gone are the days where terrorist threats and attacks are incidents that only take place far away on foreign soil,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas Ryan Kriegshauser said. “Unfortunately, we must face the reality of bad actors living within our borders clandestinely conspiring on ways to create fear and havoc. The only way to root out and prevent terrorism plots is through collaboration among all levels of law enforcement and across jurisdictions. Collaboration is what facilitated the arrests of these three suspects.”

The plan took place over 16 months, including communicating ways they could support ISIS, “including through the provision of personnel, services, and money,” according to the charges. “Through Discord chats, voice calls, and other messaging platforms, the coconspirators pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader. The defendants exchanged messages in social media groups promoting violence in furtherance of ISIS.”

They collectively sent more than $2,000 to an individual they believed to be an ISIS member, according to an investigation conducted by FBI agents in Kansas City, San Diego, Sacramento, Newark, and Richmond and the FBI Counterterrorism Division.

“Ghafoor’s name was written on the projectile of one of the rocket-propelled grenades purportedly to be used in an attack overseas to kill U.S. servicemembers,” the DOJ said. “Shamsaldeen provided financial resources for the purpose of purchasing drones, which, in turn, were to be used to attack and kill U.S. servicemembers deployed overseas.”

They also communicated their intent to travel to fight on behalf of ISIS and even die for ISIS, according to the charges. This was as U.S. troops are continuing to fight ISIS.

Last December, the U.S. and Jordan launched attacks against 70 ISIS targets in Syria after ISIS fighters killed two U.S. troops and a U.S. civilian interpreter. Last month, U.S. and Nigerian forces killed an ISIS leader after the Trump administration deployed troops to Nigeria in response to Christian genocide occurring there, The Center Square reported.