Two New Jersey residents, Milo Sedarat and Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically ISIS. Jimenez-Guzel faces an additional charge of attempted conspiracy to provide material support. Each of these charges can lead to a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and lifetime supervised release. Authorities allege that Jimenez-Guzel was attempting to flee to Turkey with the ultimate goal of reaching Syria to train and fight for ISIS. He reportedly accelerated his travel plans after learning of federal raids and arrests of alleged co-conspirators in the Detroit area, indicating a direct link between the New Jersey and Michigan cells. Federal court filings state that Sedarat and Jimenez-Guzel communicated with a Michigan-based group accused of planning a mass casualty attack, referred to as "the pumpkin operation," modeled after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Their alleged targets were LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities, and they used coded language and emojis in encrypted online chats.
A Washington state man has also indicated he will plead guilty to supporting ISIS. While specific details of his case are not provided from available information, reports suggest similar charges related to material support for the terrorist organization. Another case involved two Zion, Illinois, men, Joseph D. Jones (also known as Yusuf Abdulhaqq) and Edward Schimenti (also known as Abdul Wali), who were arrested on federal charges of plotting to aid ISIS. They were accused of driving a cooperating source to O'Hare International Airport, believing the source would travel to Syria to join ISIS, and furnishing several cellphones intended for use as detonators in ISIS attacks. They were under investigation since 2015 and were found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State in 2019. Jones received a 12-year prison sentence, and Schimenti's sentencing was scheduled for April 9, 2021.
Separately, Khalilullah Yousuf, a Toronto man, pleaded guilty to helping fund ISIS. He admitted to creating online fundraising campaigns and collecting over $35,000, which he transferred abroad in cash and cryptocurrency to support ISIS. Court filings indicate that between February 2021 and July 2022, Yousuf and three others—Mohammad David Hashimi, Abdullah At Taqi, and Seema Rahman—allegedly raised and contributed more than $35,000. Yousuf himself contributed $20,347.89. He also made and disseminated pro-ISIS propaganda on social media to radicalize and recruit individuals, and conducted research to justify terrorist attacks on foreign nationals in Afghanistan. Yousuf was arrested on December 14, 2022, following a request from the United States, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
