A New York man was charged on Wednesday in a federal court in Brooklyn with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization, the Justice Department said in a statement.
The man, identified as Syed Aman from Nassau County, New York, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday as he tried to board a flight to Doha, Qatar, the statement added. From there, he intended to reach Syria and join ISIS forces
According to the complaint, Aman openly supported ISIS through social media posts in an online group forum throughout 2023 and 2024. He allegedly sent funds to a person he believed was an ISIS member, intending to assist ISIS operations in Syria, and arranged travel plans to Syria to participate in jihad on ISIS’s behalf.
Beginning in October, Aman shared details of his plans with an FBI confidential human source. Aman reportedly conveyed that “jihad and hijrah,” referring to travel to ISIS-controlled territory and engaging in combat, were “the most important thing, more than anything else at the moment.”
Aman expressed to the source his hatred for “kuffar [non-believers] who deny the path of Allah” and claimed that if “you don’t kill them, they will kill us and ruin the earth with decay.”
Aman also used social media to express his intent “to kill Americans” and wrote about studying to become a “shaheed,” or martyr, for ISIS, according to the Justice Department announcement.
In late October 2024, Aman attempted twice to book travel to the Middle East but was blocked by his credit card company. On his third attempt, he successfully booked a flight from JFK Airport to Bangladesh via Doha. He told the FBI informant that he intended to leave the flight in Qatar, purchase a ticket to Turkey, and cross into Syria to join ISIS.
Aman reportedly planned to bring a steel pen for self-defense and expressed willingness to attack law enforcement if necessary. Upon his arrest, authorities found a silver metal pen in his bag.
On Tuesday, Aman arrived at JFK Airport, checked in, passed through security, and attempted to board his flight before FBI agents arrested him.