A home healthcare aide was charged with trying to aid the Islamic State (IS) group after he unwittingly planned his trip to Syria under the eye of law enforcement authorities, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Saddam Mohamed Raishani was arrested on Wednesday night as he prepared to board a plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin his travel, Acting US Attorney Joon Kim said.
Raishani’s lawyer, assistant federal defender Sabrina Shroff, did not immediately comment.
Raishani was detained without bail after a brief initial appearance in Manhattan federal court.
Kim said Raishani, 30, wanted to join and train with the militant group after helping another man get there.
“Raishani allegedly acted on his own desire to wage violent jihad, planning to leave his family and life in New York City for the battlefields of the Middle East,” Kim said.
The head of the FBI’s New York office, William Sweeney Jr, said the arrest demonstrated “the nature of the terrorism threat and its reach into communities here at home.”
Authorities said Raishani’s plans were foiled in January after he unknowingly contacted a person who was a confidential source working at the direction of law enforcement.
According to a criminal complaint, Raishani, who is from the Bronx, told the source that he had helped a friend shop for supplies to take to the Islamic State group, and had driven that person to the airport and contributed money before the friend left the US.
The complaint said Raishani expressed regret that he had not gone to Syria at the same time as his friend, and had quit his job and paid off his debts in preparation for the trip. It also said he told the confidential source that he had asked his wife if she would go with him to join the Islamic State group and, based on her reaction, he decided he would not ask her again because he worried she would report him to law enforcement.
“Raishani also indicated his desire to wage jihad and his belief that the Koran can be read to justify the violence, including beheadings,” according to the complaint, which said he told the confidential source: “May God grant us martyrdom.”
Eventually, the source introduced Raishani to an undercover New York Police Department officer who posed as someone who also wanted to fight for the Islamic State group, authorities said.
The complaint said Raishani told the undercover officer that he had been in contact with other Islamic State group supporters and no longer felt comfortable in the US. It said Raishani told the officer that they could travel to Yemen together, with Raishani posing as a nurse and the officer posing as a refugee aid worker, to move more easily.
Raishani was arrested as he prepared to board a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, the complaint said.
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