By Pervaiz Shallwani, Andrew Grossman and Rebecca Davis O'Brien
NEW YORK--Three Brooklyn men were arrested Wednesday and accused
of plotting to join or aid Islamic State in Syria, offering a
glimpse into the militant group's recruiting tactics--and how U.S.
counterterrorism officials are fighting back.
The charges in the fast-moving case are part of a concerted
effort by U.S. law enforcement to prevent Americans from joining
extremist groups in the Mideast or acting on their behalf in the
U.S. Top law-enforcement officials have cited threats from Islamic
State as among the biggest risks to U.S. national security in the
past several months, moving it to the forefront of law-enforcement
and intelligence priorities.
Akhror Saidakhmetov, a 19-year-old citizen of Kazakhstan legally
residing in the U.S., was arrested early Wednesday at John F.
Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a
flight to Istanbul. Another man, Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24,
was arrested in Brooklyn. The third man, Abror Habibov, 30, a
citizen of Uzbekistan like Mr. Juraboev, was arrested in
Jacksonville, Fla.
All three are charged with attempting and conspiring to provide
material support to Islamic State, also referred to as ISIS or
ISIL. Mr. Juraboev, also a legal U.S. resident, and Mr.
Saidakhmetov appeared in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Mr. Habibov, whom police said has overstayed his visa, appeared in
federal court in Jacksonville on Wednesday. If convicted, each
faces as much as 15 years in prison.
Adam Perlmutter, court-appointed counsel to Mr. Saidakhmetov,
said his client was interrogated without an attorney. Mr.
Perlmutter also criticized the government's use of confidential
informants. Attorneys for Messrs. Juraboev and Habibov couldn't be
reached.
The U.S. moves are part of a global effort to deprive Islamic
State of support. European countries have sought to stem the flow
of nationals going to Syria, but more than 3,000 European Union
citizens have traveled to Syria since 2012, EU officials have said.
Some who came back have been arrested and charged with terrorism
for fighting alongside Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliates.
The investigation into the Brooklyn men began after Mr. Juraboev
in August posted to an Uzbek-language website that called for
visitors to join Islamic State, according to the criminal
complaint.
Using an alias, he pledged allegiance to ISIS and offered to
carry out attacks on U.S. soil, including attempting to kill
President Barack Obama and serve as a martyr by being shot in
return, the complaint said. "That will strike fear in the hearts of
infidels," he wrote.
Federal agents visited him about a week later in Brooklyn, where
he acknowledged writing the message and told them that he wanted to
travel to Syria to join Islamic State, the complaint said. During a
follow-up interview with federal agents, he reiterated his
intention and added that he would bomb the amusement park at Coney
Island in Brooklyn if ordered to do so by Islamic State, the
complaint said.
He then continued to make postings, contacting alleged ISIS
officials in an effort to go to Syria while writing that if he
couldn't, he would attempt attacks in the U.S. on their behalf, the
complaint said.
The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York
office, Diego Rodriguez, said not arresting the men at the time was
normal protocol, part of an effort by authorities to identify their
alleged network.
"That's why we let this play out as much as we could," he
said.
The FBI has poured resources into monitoring social-media
traffic and web forums used by groups like Islamic State. The
agency and others hope to identify sympathizers before they act,
then use informants to work alongside, often arresting them as they
board flights.
Authorities said that in his interviews with agents, Mr.
Juraboev identified Mr. Saidakhmetov as a friend and co-worker who
shared his views.
Mr. Saidakhmetov expressed an intent to buy a machine gun and
shoot police officers and FBI agents if thwarted in his plan to
join Islamic State in Syria, authorities said.
Mr. Habibov helped the others organize and finance their trips,
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said at a news
conference Wednesday. The other two men indicated that they would
seek to acquire weapons and attack U.S. police officers if they
couldn't make it to Syria, Mr. Bratton said. "Those aspirations
were made quite clear by their statements."
The arrests are the latest to fuel concerns among
law-enforcement officials that Americans and other Westerners are
trying to join extremist groups after being lured by online
propaganda.
"This is real," Mr. Bratton said. "This is the concern about the
lone wolf inspired to act without ever going to the Mideast--or the
concern of once they get to the Mideast, acquiring fighting-skills
capabilities and then attempting to return to the country."
Department of Homeland Security officials have made outreach to
Muslim communities a priority, hoping to persuade them to alert law
enforcement to signs of radicalization. The complaint against the
Brooklyn men shows the power of that approach: One suspect
allegedly told a cooperating informant he wanted to travel to Syria
but couldn't because his mother had grown suspicious and had
confiscated his passport.
FBI efforts to prevent Americans from joining Islamic State have
resulted in a string of arrests in the past several months. This
month alone, seven individuals have been charged in Minneapolis and
St. Louis. Other charges have been brought against people in
Colorado, Illinois and upstate New York.
While law enforcement officials often lament the power of online
propaganda to spur Westerners to support extremist groups, the
Brooklyn case demonstrates such reliance on the Internet has major
drawbacks for would-be terrorists. The FBI was able to detect and
monitor the men's statements because they were active online.
Mr. Bratton said the number of cases being investigated in New
York and nationally "nowhere near approach the scale" of those in
Europe. In a speech earlier Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey
said the agency has open investigations of "people in various
stages of radicalizing" in all 50 states.
They are drawn, he said, by Islamic State social-media messages
that beckon them to Syria, or barring that, "kill somebody where
you are."
Write to Pervaiz Shallwani at pervaiz.shallwani@wsj.com and
Andrew Grossman at andrew.grossman@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for BlackBerry Ltd.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=CA09228F1036
Access Investor Kit for Apple, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0378331005
Access Investor Kit for Google, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38259P5089
Access Investor Kit for Google, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US38259P7069
Access Investor Kit for The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US6311031081
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires