Authorities Arrest Rochester Man For Supporting Islamic State

A 30-year-old man from Rochester, New York has been arrested and charged with supporting the Islamic State terrorist group and plotting to kill U.S. soldiers.

The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that 30-year-old Mufid Elfgeeh had, in 2013, attempted to aid three people in traveling to Syria to fight for the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot that has gained control over parts of Iraq and Syria. Two of the people Elfgeeh was aiding had been cooperating with the FBI.

According to court documents, Elfgeeh had contacted two FBI informants and tried to persuade them to travel to Syria "and fight on behalf of ISIS." Elfgeeh is a naturalized citizen from Yemen.

Authorities started following the 30-year-old Rochester man last year after he began sharing a series of tweets that supported the Islamic State and encouraged people to donate money to jihadist groups.

Elfgeeh also reportedly told the two FBI informants that he was obtaining firearms in a plot to shoot and kill American soldiers returning from the Middle East, as well as Shia Muslims living in the state of New York. The Islamic State is a Sunni Muslim group.

"Elfgeeh also plotted to shoot and kill members of the United States military who had returned from Iraq," authorities said. "As part of the plan to kill soldiers, Elfgeeh purchased two handguns equipped with firearm silencers and ammunition from a confidential source."

William Hochul, U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York, said in a statement Wednesday that Elfgeeh's arrest proves the U.S. is using multiple strategies, both domestic along with international, in combatting the Islamic State.

"With today's indictment of Mufid Elfgeeh, the government demonstrates that it will use all available tools to disrupt and defeat ISIS," Hochul said.