The FBI charged three foreign-citizen Brooklyn residents Wednesday with attempting to aid Islamic State terrorists, one of whom said he wanted to kill President Obama to “strike fear in the hearts of infidels,” the Justice Department announced.
Agents said the men were trying to travel to Syria to join the terrorist group, but were also prepared to carry out terrorist attacks on U.S. soil if ordered to do so by the Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIS or ISIL.
“The flow of foreign fighters to Syria represents an evolving threat to our country and to our allies,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch — and likely the nation’s next attorney general.
“Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice,” she said.
The defendants are Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, of Uzbekistan; Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, of Kazakhstan; and Abror Habibov, 30, of Uzbekistan.
Mr. Saidakhmetov was arrested Wednesday morning at JFK International Airport attempting to board a plane to Turkey, with the intent to join the Islamic State, the FBI said. Mr. Juraboev had purchased a ticket to Turkey and was set to depart in March.
Mr. Habibov, meanwhile, provided money and support for the trips overseas, agents said. Though listed as a New York resident, he is expected to make his initial court appearance in Florida.
Officials said all three men had arrived in the U.S. legally from their mostly Muslim Central Asian homelands, though Mr. Habibov had overstayed his visa.
The men had plotted or discussed a range of possible attacks, FBI agents said. According to court documents, Mr. Juraboev posted on an Islamic State support website that he wanted to know if it was possible to carry out acts of martyrdom on U.S. soil — specifically planning “to shoot Obama and then get shot ourselves.”
When questioned by FBI agents, Mr. Juraboev said he would not kill Mr. Obama out of any “ill will,” but because of “Allah.”
“Because he is an enemy of Allah, I will execute Obama,” Mr. Juraboev said in communications intercepted by federal investigators.
As an additional plan he was also prepared to plant a bomb on New York’s popular Coney Island if ordered to do so by the Islamic State, prosecutors said.
For his part, Mr. Saidakhmetov said he wanted to launch an attack against law enforcement, specifically naming local police and the FBI.
“It is legal in America to carry a gun,” he said in a conversation recorded by law enforcement. “I will just go and buy a machine gun, AK-47, go out and shoot all police.”
At a press conference, New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton said the department took the threats “very seriously.”
“The idea that it was made quite plain, based on their own statements, that if they could not go that they would seek to acquire weapons and this machine gun and seek to attack — very specifically — police officers,” he said.
FBI records show a confidential informant often met the men at the mosques to discuss their plans to join the Islamic State.
The three men are charged with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization. The defendants face a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.
The announcement comes the same day that FBI Director James B. Comey said his agency has active “homegrown violent extremist investigations in every single state.”
Previously, the director had said there were investigations in most states, but that number has been growing, and Wednesday is the first time Mr. Comey said the investigations are now nationwide.
“Until a few weeks ago, there [were] 49 states. Alaska had none,” Mr. Comey said. “Alaska has now joined the group.”
The Islamic State puts out a message that “resonates with troubled souls,” Mr. Comey said.
“ISIL in particular is putting out a siren song through their slick propaganda, through social media that goes like this: ’Troubled soul, come to the caliphate. You will live a life of glory. These are the apocalyptic End Times. You will find a life of meaning here fighting for our so-called caliphate, and if you can’t come, kill somebody where you are,’” Mr. Comey said.
• Phillip Swarts can be reached at pswarts@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.