Cincinnati-Area Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Attempting Terrorism Plot to Kill Government Employees

Christopher Lee Cornell, 22, of Green Township, Ohio, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for plotting, planning and attempting an attack on government officials during the State of the Union Address in 2015 in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary McCord, U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman of the Southern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division made the announcement.  Cornell pleaded guilty on Aug. 1 and was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith of the Southern District of Ohio, who also ordered Cornell to serve a lifetime term of supervised release.

“With this sentence, Christopher Lee Cornell is being held accountable for plotting to kill federal officials in the name of ISIL,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord.  “Counterterrorism remains our highest priority and we will continue to identify and hold accountable those who seek to commit acts of terrorism within our borders.”

“The seriousness of this crime is apparent,” said U.S. Attorney Glassman.  “Cornell plotted to commit violence as a symbolic attack on the United States as a whole.  An attempt to murder another individual is horrific enough and justifies a significant sentence.  But this was more than that.  Cornell wanted to inflict pain on the spirit of the entire country, and terrorize its leadership.  Today’s sentence appropriately holds him accountable for that.”

According to the plea agreement, from on or about August 2014 through January 2015, Cornell plotted, planned and attempted to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to attack the U.S. Capitol during the State of the Union Address on Jan. 20, 2015.

Cornell admitted that he conducted online research of weapons, the construction of bombs, the U.S. Capitol and other potential targets in the Washington, D.C., area.  He intended to kill officers and employees of the United States, and possessed two semi-automatic rifles and approximately 600 rounds of ammunition.

In addition, Cornell admitted that his planned attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to provide material support and resources – both personnel and services – to ISIL.

Cornell was arrested on Jan. 14, 2015, by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).  After his arrest, he posted statements online that included a call for others to join him in violent jihad against the United States and its citizens on behalf of ISIL, according to admissions made in connection with the plea agreement.

The JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the Cincinnati Police Department; Colerain, Ohio, Police Department; Dayton Ohio, Police Department; Ohio State Highway Patrol; University of Cincinnati Police Department; U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations; FBI; U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; West Chester, Ohio, Police Department; and Xenia, Ohio, Police Department.

Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord and U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the JTTF for its investigation of this case.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Mangan of the Southern District of Ohio.

International Arms Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Kill Americans and Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization

Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, a Dual U.S.-Romanian Citizen, Agreed to Provide Military-Grade Weapons to be Used to Shoot Down American Aircraft in Colombia

Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, 43, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring to sell large quantities of military-grade weaponry to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, to be used to kill Americans in Colombia.  Georgescu was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Abrams.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York.

“Virgil Flaviu Georgescu was convicted by a unanimous jury of conspiring to sell the FARC military weapons, including anti-aircraft cannons and rocket propelled grenades, to be used against American personnel and aircraft,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.  “Having sought to profit from the murder of U.S. officers abroad, Georgescu will now spend years in a U.S. prison.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment, other documents publicly filed in Manhattan federal court, and the evidence introduced at trial:

Between May 2014 and December 2014, Georgescu, a Romania-based weapons broker, conspired with his co-defendants, a former Romanian government official and a former member of the Italian Parliament, to sell an arsenal of weapons, including machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons, to the FARC, with the understanding that the FARC would use the weapons against United States personnel in Colombia.  During a series of recorded telephone calls and in-person meetings, Georgescu and his co-conspirators agreed to sell the weapons to three confidential sources (CSs), who represented that they were acquiring these weapons for the FARC but were, in fact, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  Georgescu and his co-conspirators agreed to provide these weapons to the CSs with the specific understanding that the weapons would be used to kill Americans and, in particular, to shoot down American helicopters and airplanes.

Georgescu first spoke with a CS in May 2014.  Thereafter, Georgescu recruited both of his co-conspirators to help obtain the weapons for the CSs, with the understanding that the former Romanian government official would provide weapons expertise and the former Italian member of Parliament would help secure fraudulent end-user certificates, in order to make the illegal sale of weapons look legitimate.  Georgescu instructed his co-conspirators and others involved in the deal to use encrypted applications when communicating about the weapons deal to avoid detection by U.S. authorities.

Over the course of five consensually-recorded meetings with the CSs in Romania and Montenegro, Georgescu and his co-conspirators provided the CSs with catalogues of weapons that included anti-aircraft cannons, rocket propelled and thermobaric grenades and other high-powered weapons, as well as military-grade optical equipment.  During these meetings, the CSs explained that the arms would be used to kill Americans and Georgescu offered his thoughts on what weapons would best suit the FARC’s needs.

Between September 2014 and December 2014, Georgescu and his co-conspirators traveled to Romania, Montenegro, Italy, Germany, Albania, Poland and Bulgaria to advance the weapons deal.  During this period, the co-conspirators met with weapons suppliers, obtained sample fraudulent end-user certificates and test-fired military-grade rifles.  In December 2014, Georgescu and his co-conspirators secured a signed contract from a European weapons supplier to provide more than $17 million dollars’ worth of weapons to a straw purchaser.  After obtaining the signed contract, Georgescu and one of his co-conspirators secretly altered the document in order to increase the conspirators’ personal profits from the weapons sale.  On Dec. 15, 2014, Georgescu met with the CSs, showed them the contract and discussed means of payment and transportation of the weapons to Colombia.

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Georgescu was arrested by Montenegrin authorities on the charges in the indictment on Dec. 15, 2014, and extradited to the United States on Feb. 25, 2015.  On May 25, following a 10-day jury trial in Manhattan federal court before Judge Abrams, Georgescu was convicted of one count of conspiracy to kill United States officers or employees and one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.  In addition to the prison term, Georgescu was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord and U.S Attorney Bharara praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division’s Bilateral Investigations Unit, the DEA’s Bucharest Country Office, the DEA’s Rome Country Office, the Montenegrin National Police, and the Romanian Authorities.  U.S Attorney Bharara also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.

This prosecution is being handled by the office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Surratt and Ilan Graff are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Josh Parecki and Benita Corlett of the Counterterrorism Section.

Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime for Mailing Threatening Letter to Islamic Center

Daniel George Fisher, 57, of Minneapolis, pleaded guilty today to a federal hate crime for writing and mailing a threatening letter to an Islamic Center.  Fisher was charged with obstructing, by threat of force, the free exercise of religious beliefs.

The plea was announced by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota; and Special Agent in Charge Richard T. Thornton of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division.

According to his guilty plea, in September 2015, Fisher wrote and mailed an anonymous letter to the Tawfiq Islamic Center (TIC), located in Minneapolis.  In the letter, the defendant threatened to “blow up your building with all you immigrants in it.”  The letter also included statements demonstrating strong anti-Muslim animus.  Fisher subsequently admitted to the FBI that he wrote the letter to scare and intimidate the TIC’s Muslim members.

“America protects the free exercise of religion for all people in every community,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta.  “Threats of violence that target religious communities violate federal law; corrode the ideals of our democracy; and threaten the foundation of an inclusive, free and open society.  The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute hate crimes that target people because of where they worship.”

“Threatening to blow up a mosque is simply un-American,” said U.S. Attorney Luger.  “It is a bedrock principle of our country, enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, that all people are free to practice their religion of choice.  Tens of thousands of law-abiding Muslims do so in Minnesota.  The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI will not allow any resident of our state to have that most basic freedom jeopardized by the threat of violence.”

“Today’s guilty plea affirms that hate crimes directed at our communities based on their religion will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Thornton.  “We will continue to aggressively investigate and bring to justice those who threaten violence against our citizens who choose to exercise their religious freedom as protected by our Constitution.”

U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright of the District of Minnesota accepted Fisher’s plea.  Fisher faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI’s Minneapolis Division investigated the matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Munoz-Kaphing of the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney Olimpia Michel of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.