A northern Virginia man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State, according to a Justice Department press release issued Monday.
Haris Qamar of Burke, Va., entered the plea for plotting lone-wolf attacks in the nation’s capital earlier this year.
“This case demonstrates the reach terrorist organizations have through social media and the threat that they pose to our national security,” said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Division, Paul Abbate.
“When Qamar could not travel overseas, he attempted to assist ISIL’s propaganda campaign for the purpose of inspiring lone-wolf attacks in the Washington, D.C. area. Qamar operated over numerous social media accounts where he proselytized ISIL’s message and praised the terrorist group when they committed gruesome acts.”
The 26-year-old told an undercover FBI agent he first attempted to join the terrorist group in 2014. He had bought a plane ticket from Newark, N.J., to Istanbul, Turkey, but his parents revoked his passport and Qamar was unable to make the flight.
Frustrated he could not leave the U.S., Qamar told the informant he would do what he could to help the Islamic State from where he was. He told the agent he could take photos and videos of famous Washington landmarks, which the Islamic State could use in planning terrorist attacks. On June 3, the agent drove Qamar around to various places in the Beltway. Qamar was documented on his own video, which was never turned over to the Islamic State, saying, “Bye bye D.C., stupid-ass kufar, kill ’em all.”
The suspect had planned to assassinate various members of the military, whose home addresses were posted online by the Islamic State.
Qamar faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon D. Kromberg of the Eastern District of Virginia is prosecuting the case with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
