A 22-year-old Passaic County, New Jersey resident has been criminally charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization after federal authorities uncovered a plot to launch an ISIS-inspired assault on a synagogue, JNS reported.
The US Department of Justice publicized the indictment on Monday.
If convicted of the terrorism charges, the resident of Wayne, New Jersey, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison along with a financial liability of up to $250,000.
According to the federal complaint, the suspect engaged in a series of encrypted online conversations from December 2025 through this month with an undercover operative he believed was a genuine member of the terrorist network. Throughout these digital exchanges, he allegedly deliberated on “potential attacks on targets within the United States, including places of worship" and transmitted various photographic and video reconnaissance files of the designated landmarks.
Court documents state that the New Jersey man explicitly informed the secret source that “he was contemplating carrying out an attack of his own, possible on a National Guard location or on a Jewish place of worship."
Federal prosecutors added that in March 2026, the suspect actively attempted to fly internationally to access ISIS-controlled terrain in Syria to offer his direct allegiance and services to the organization.
“Those who seek to advance the objectives of foreign terrorist organizations should expect a swift and coordinated response from federal law enforcement," stated Robert Frazer, US attorney for the District of New Jersey.
The multi-agency investigation further revealed that the suspect bought a subscription for a Virtual Private Network (VPN), intending to gift it to the operative to secure ISIS communications.