Flatbush Resident Faces Terror Charges After Allegedly Trying To Plot ISIS Attack In Times Square
This week, a 37-year-old Flatbush resident was arrested on terror charges for allegedly trying to support a foreign terrorist organization and expressing interest in plotting an attack on Times Square.
Mohamed Rafik Naji, an Uber driver living on Clarendon Road, was charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), after a criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court, said U.S. Attorney Eastern District of New York Robert L. Capers.
Naji was arrested at 3am at his home on Monday, November 21, according to U.S. Attorney. Cellphone video footage showed federal agents leading Naji from his apartment on Clarendon Road in Flatbush, reports CBS New York.
Naji, a Yemeni citizen and legal U.S. resident, began expressing his support for ISIL on social media in 2014, and later traveled to Yemen where he reportedly stoked his fervor for violent jihad, according to the complaint and court documents.
Naji’s defense attorney Susan Kellman countered Naji had innocent reasons to visit Yemen, citing his family who live there, reports CBS New York.
The criminal complaint also alleges that Naji expressed support for a terrorist attack in Times Square, similar to the July attack in Nice, France that killed 86 people.
[Update 11/23] Prosecutors based their allegations against Naji in part on recorded conversations between him and an FBI informer, both in Yemen and in the US, reports the New York Times. The informer also communicated with Naji over Facebook.
“As alleged, the defendant was persistent in his efforts to join ISIL and support its terrorist objectives,” stated Capers. “We will continue to identify and prosecute individuals like Naji who seek to empower our nation’s enemies and endanger our citizens and partners around the world.”
“Terrorism threats, like Naji, are only mitigated through the joint efforts of law enforcement to protect our communities,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney, speaking on the combined efforts of U.S. Attorney Capers, members of National Security, the FBI Special Task Force, and NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill.
The NYPD is boosting its security presence at tomorrow’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade after an ISIS magazine declared the event “an excellent target” for an attack.
“New York must remain vigilant in the face of hate and intolerance, and continue to advance the core values of democracy that this state and nation were founded upon,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement, adding that there are no threats at this time.
