Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, John C. Demers, the Assistant Attorney General
for National Security, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge
of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”),
and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of
New York (“NYPD”), announced that KIM ANH VO, a/k/a “F@ng,” a/k/a “SyxxZMC,”
a/k/a “Zozo,” a/k/a “Miss.Bones,” a/k/a “Sage Pi,” a/k/a “Kitty Lee,” was
arrested this morning in Hephzibah, Georgia.
VO was charged by a criminal Complaint with conspiring to provide
material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS” or the
“Islamic State”), a designated foreign terrorist organization. VO is expected to be presented later today
before Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps in Augusta, Georgia, federal court.
As alleged in the criminal Complaint,[1] unsealed today:
In April 2016, VO joined the United Cyber Caliphate (the
“UCC”), an online group that pledged allegiance to ISIS and committed to
carrying out online attacks and cyber intrusions against Americans. Since that time, the UCC and its sub-groups
have disseminated ISIS propaganda online, including “kill lists,” which listed
the names of individuals – for example, soldiers in the United States Armed
Forces and members of the State Department – whom the group instructed their
followers to kill. For example, on or
about April 21, 2016, the UCC posted online the names, addresses, and other
personal identifying information of approximately 3,602 individuals in the New
York City area and included a message that stated: “List of most important citizens of #New York
and #Brooklyn and some other cities . . . We Want them #Dead.”
Between April 2016 and May 2017, VO worked on behalf of the
UCC to recruit others to join the group and assist with the group’s hacking
efforts. Between January and February
2017, VO recruited other individuals – including a minor residing in Norway –
to create online content in support of ISIS, including a video (“Video-1”)
threating a non-profit organization based in New York, New York, which was
formed to find and combat the online promotion of extremist ideologies. Video-1 contained messages such as, “You
messed with the Islamic State, SO EXPECT US SOON,” followed by a scene
displaying a photograph of the organization’s chief executive officer and
former U.S. Ambassador (the “CEO”), along with the words: “[CEO], we will get you.”
On or about April 2, 2017, the UCC posted online a kill list
containing the names and personal identifying information of over 8,000
individuals, along with links to another video (“Video-2”). Video-2 displayed messages stating, in
part: “We have a message to the people
of the U.S., and most importantly, your president Trump: Know that we continue to wage war against
you, know that your counter attacks only makes stronger. The UCC will start a new step in this war
against you. . . .” and “We will release a list with over 8000 names,
addresses, and email addresses, of those who fight against the US. Or live amongst the kuffar. Kill them wherever you find them!” In subsequent scenes, Video-2 contains what
appears to be a graphic depiction of the decapitation of a kneeling man.
*
* *
VO, 20, of Georgia, is charged with one count of conspiring
to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization,
which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case
is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only,
as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI New
York Field Office, New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, and Atlanta Field
Office’s Augusta Resident Agency. Mr.
Berman also thanked the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern
District of Georgia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of
Justice’s National Security Division.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism
and International Narcotics Unit.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn G. Crowley, Sidhardha Kamaraju, and Jane
Kim are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney
Elisabeth Poteat of the Counterterrorism Section.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely
accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of
the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below
are only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an
allegation.
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