Brooklyn, New York, Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

Defendant Purchased Ticket to Travel to Turkey to Join ISIL

Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 25, a citizen of Uzbekistan and resident of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly T. Currie of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Director in Charge Diego G. Rodriguez of the FBI New York Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Glenn Sorge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) New York Field Office and Commissioner William J. Bratton of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

According to previous court filings, in August 2014, Juraboev posted a threat on an Uzbek-language website to kill President Obama in an act of martyrdom on behalf of ISIL.  In subsequent interviews by federal agents, Juraboev stated his belief in ISIL’s terrorist agenda, including the establishment by force of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria.  Juraboev stated that he wanted to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIL but lacked the means to travel.  He stated that if he were unable to travel, he would engage in an act of martyrdom on U.S. soil if ordered to do so by ISIL, such as killing the President or planting a bomb on Coney Island, New York.  During the next several months, Juraboev and a co-conspirator discussed plans to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIL, culminating in Juraboev’s purchase on Dec. 27, 2014, of a ticket to travel from John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, to Istanbul, departing on March 29, 2015.

Juraboev pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge William F. Kuntz II of the Eastern District of New York.  At sentencing, Juraboev faces up to 15 years in prison.

“Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev admitted that he conspired to provide material support to ISIL and that he was prepared to commit violence overseas or here in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin.  “The National Security Division’s highest priority is counterterrorism, and this case reflects our commitment to finding those who wish to provide material support to ISIL and to fight on behalf of the terrorist organization, either at home or abroad, and preventing them from doing so.”

“The defendant planned to travel to Syria to wage jihad on behalf of ISIL, and was prepared to commit a terrorist attack on American soil if he were not able to make that trip,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Currie.  “The defendant’s guilty plea today is a testament to the hard work of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York to prevent local residents from becoming foreign fighters in Syria or launching terrorist attacks at home.”

“Juraboev clearly expressed the desire to commit violence, either domestically or abroad, on behalf of a terrorist organization,” said Assistant Director in Charge Rodriguez.  “His failure to carry out this desire is a testament to the tireless efforts of FBI New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.  We will continue to work day and night, with our law enforcement partners, to ensure the safety of all Americans.”

“Today’s guilty plea is the culmination of just one of many efforts to arrest and prosecute individuals who wish to join terrorist organizations in order to do harm to Americans both here and abroad,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Sorge.  “As a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, HSI will continue to use its unique customs and immigration authorities to root out these evil individuals and bring them to justice.”

“Abdurasul Juraboev was quite clear that he wanted to provide material support to ISIL by fighting in Syria, if not, by his offer to assassinate the President of the United States, or by carrying out a terrorist attack in Coney Island,” said Commissioner Bratton.  “This case is another example of the reach that ISIL has within the United Sates through social media, and the fact that some are willing to follow that call.  I commend the work of the agents and detectives of the Manhattan based Joint Terrorism Task Force.”

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Solomon, Douglas M. Pravda and Peter W. Baldwin of the Eastern District of New York, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Danya Atiyeh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.