Federal authorities on Wednesday said that two New Jersey men and an out-of-state resident were planning terror attacks on behalf of ISIS.
In a video posted on X on Wednesday evening, U.S. District Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba identified Tomas Kaan Jiminez-Guzal and Milo Sedarat, of Montclair, as well as a Kent, Washington, man as those facing federal terrorism charges.
Sources told the New York Post that the men are accused of involvement in the plot uncovered in Detroit last week, which feds say was meant to copy the 2015 Paris ISIS attack.
Jiminez-Guzal was taken into custody at Newark Liberty International Airport and Sedarat was arrested at his father’s home in Montclair, according to various news reports.
Habba said federal complaints were filed against the three men on Tuesday and they were taken into custody on Wednesday.
Jiminez-Guzal is charged with conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and Sedarat is charged with two counts of transmitting threats to interstate and foreign commerce.
The man from Washington is charged with transmitting violent antisemitic threats on the internet to individuals in New Jersey and beyond.
Federal authorities allege that Jiminez-Guzal and his co-conspirators spent the past year communicating through encrypted messages, planning to travel to Turkey and Syria to join ISIS and plotting terrorism acts in the United States.
In their messages, they discussed detailed travel plans, physical training, weapons and methods to avoid detection by law enforcement, federal prosecutors said.
Pictures shared in the messages showed Jiminez-Guzal standing in front of an ISIS flag while holding a knife and the Washington man wearing an ISIS hat, officials said.
Sedarat’s activities showed a pattern of antisemitic messages and images and purchases consistent with plans for an attack, authorities said. Photos that he had shared in chats showed weapons such as swords and knives and practicing at a gun range, Habba said.
Their arrests followed the filing of federal terrorism charges in Michigan against Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud.
Mohmed and Mahmoud are accused of conspiring to transfer firearms and ammunition for use in a terrorist act, according to NBC News and criminal complaints filed Saturday.
Court documents allege Ali and unnamed co-conspirators trained with AR-15-style rifles and scouted potential attack sites in Ferndale, Michigan.
It is not clear whether Sedarat, Jimenez-Guzal or the Washington man are among the unnamed co-conspirators described in those court documents.
Jiminez-Guzal and Sedarat appeared in federal court in New Jersey on Wednesday. The Washington man had an appearance scheduled in the Eastern District of Seattle.
Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
