Federal authorities arrested a New Jersey man Monday morning for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State, and for helping his brother help the terrorist group.
Alaa Saadeh of West New York, N.J., who is 23, was charged with “conspiring with other individuals in New Jersey and New York to provide services and personnel to ISIL, aiding and abetting an attempt to provide services and personnel to ISIL, and attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI,” according to the Justice Department.
He will be arraigned Monday afternoon before a U.S. magistrate in New Jersey.
The department said Saadeh’s brother tried to leave the country in May to join the Islamic State, and authorities say the plan was for the two brothers and a third co-conspirator to meet up in the Middle East after a few weeks. Saadeh’s brother was arrested in Jordan on suspicion of helping the terrorist group, an event that forced him to delay his own plans to leave the country.
“In recorded conversations with an informant, Saadeh revealed his support for ISIL, including the terrorist organization’s use of beheadings and mass killings to impose its violent agenda,” Justice said.
Saadeh was charged with three counts, including conspiring to help a terrorist organization and witness tampering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
