New York man indicted on charges of planning to kill U.S. troops, aiding ISIS

A 30-year-old Rochester, New York, man was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury for allegedly attempting to aid ISIS and planning to kill U.S. troops returning from Iraq.

Mufid Elfgeeh, who was arrested in May, has been charged with three counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, one count of attempted murder of current and former members of the U.S. military, and federal weapons offenses, the Justice Department said in a news release. If convicted of all charges, he could receive life in prison.

Court records say that Elfgeeh attempted to assist three individuals, including two working with the FBI, with traveling to Syria to fight alongside ISIS. In 2013 and early 2014, he tried to persuade the two sources to engage in fighting overseas, and then prepared them for the trip. He also sent $600 to someone in Yemen, who planned on using the money to travel to Syria to join ISIS.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Elfgeeh also plotted to shoot and kill returning members of the United States military, and purchased two handguns with silencers and ammunition from a confidential source; the handguns were made inoperable by the FBI before Elfgeeh received them.

"With today's indictment of Mufid Elfgeeh, the government demonstrates that it will use all available tools to disrupt and defeat ISIS," U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said in the news release. "The case also demonstrates that by working with the community, law enforcement is able to identify those who would harm our country or our returning soldiers."