Terrence J. McNeil, 24, of Akron, Ohio, pleaded guilty to
five counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and five counts of
making threatening interstate communications involving his soliciting the
murder of members of the U.S. military.
The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney
General for National Security Mary B. McCord, Acting U.S. Attorney David A.
Sierleja for the Northern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Stephen
D. Anthony of the FBI’s Cleveland Division.
“Terrence McNeil pleaded guilty to soliciting the murder of
members of our military. He disseminated ISIL’s violent rhetoric, circulated
U.S. military personnel information, and explicitly called for the killing of
American service members in their homes and communities. Now, he will be held
accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord. “The National
Security Division’s highest priority is counterterrorism. We will continue to
use all of our tools to disrupt those who use social media to threaten acts of
violence against our military members and their families, on behalf of
terrorist organizations.”
“This case demonstrates the challenges faced by law
enforcement in confronting global terrorism,” said Acting U.S. Attorney
Sierleja. “It highlights the dangers posed by terrorists committed to carrying
out attacks here in the United States and their use of social media to
accomplish their mission. The message should be clear that individuals who
engage in this behavior will be aggressively prosecuted.”
“While we aggressively defend First Amendment rights, the
individual arrested went far beyond free speech by reposting names and
addresses of 100 U.S. service members, all with the intent to have them
killed,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony. “We will remain vigilant in our
efforts to stop those who wish to support these despicable acts.”
According to documents filed in the case:
McNeil, a U.S. citizen, professed his support on social
media on numerous occasions for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a
designated foreign terrorist organization. On or about Sept. 24, 2015, using a
Tumblr account, McNeil reblogged a file with the banner “Islamic State Hacking
Division,” followed by “Target: United States Military” and “Leak: Addresses of
100 U.S. Military Personnel.”
The file type is a .gif file, which allows multiple still
images to be looped in one file, with a timed delay between each image. The
text of the first file reads “O Brothers in America, know that the jihad
against the crusaders is not limited to the lands of the Khilafah, it is a
world-wide jihad and their war is not just a war against the Islamic State, it
is a war against Islam…Know that it is wajib (translated to “necessary”) for
you to kill these kuffar! and now we have made it easy for you by giving you
addresses, all you need to do is take the final step, so what are you waiting
for? Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to
death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe…”
The file then loops several dozen photographs, purportedly
of U.S. military personnel, along with their respective name, address and
military branch. The final image looped is a picture of a handgun and a knife
with text that reads “…and kill them wherever you find them…”
The defendant posted multiple other kill lists in late 2015,
all of which repeated the same refrain, calling on others to seek out and
murder U.S. servicemen and women.
McNeil is scheduled to be sentenced on August 2. Under the
terms of his plea agreement, he faces a sentence of between 15 and 20 years in
prison.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Cleveland
investigated this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Christos Georgalis and Michelle Baeppler for the Northern District of
Ohio, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National
Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
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