A U.S. naturalized citizen was indicted Tuesday in New York federal court on charges of recruiting people to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group.
Mufid A. Elfgeeh, a 30-year-old business owner from Yemen, allegedly tried to recruit people to join ISIS and shoot people in the U.S., NBC News reported Tuesday.
Elfgeeh was arrested in May after attempted to buy two handguns with silencers from an informant for the FBI. Although the firearms charges were made public in June, the charges on recruiting for ISIS were gagged until the grand jury indictment held on Tuesday.
According to prosecutors, Elfgeeh tried to persuade two undercovers and a third person in Yemen to travel to Syria and “fight on behalf of ISIS.” He also told the undercovers he wanted the guns to carry out shootings, and suggested he might target Shia Muslims and U.S. veterans returning from the Middle East, in the Rochester area.
The FBI probe began a year ago when he allegedly started posting a series of tweets expressing support for Al Qaeda, ISIS and other international terror groups. In one message, Elfgeeh even suggested people donate a third of their salaries to jihadists.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office