In NYC’s John F. Kennedy airport, two New Jersey men were arrested and have been charged with planning terrorism . The initial reports have indicated that the two men arrested, Mohamed Hamoud Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, were planning to join terrorist groups in Somalia, and were flying from JFK airport to Egypt en route to Somalia. In Somalia, they planned to join the Al Shabaab, which has been linked to Al-Qaeda. They planned to arrive in Cairo, Egypt, and then perhaps take a boat to Somalia. They had previously been in Jordan in 2007, and AP reports that they unsuccessfully tried to get to Iraq in the past.
Police Photos of Mohamed Alessa and Carlos Almonte (Photo: Department of Justice)
The criminal complaint against them has been unsealed and released to the press. In the criminal complaint, Mohamed Alessa sought to better accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan in killing American soldiers.
The accused Alessa and Almonte had been training in an “outdoor facility in West Milford, New Jersey” and had been teaching military tactics to an undercover law enforcement officer in Jersey City, New Jersey. The accused repeatedly listened to and played recording of American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki “promoting violent jihad and martyrdom.” Anwar al-Awlaki, who is now believed to be in Yemen, has regularly praised terrorist organizations and was in contact with the Fort Hood accused terrorist Nidal Hasan. In addition, the accused reportedly also watched videos by Adam Gadahn (aka Azzam al-Amriki) praising Nidal Hasan.
Inspirations for Mohamed Alessa and Carlos Almonte to Kill Non-Muslims: Anwar Al-Awlaki, Nidal Hassan, Adam Gadahn
The criminal complaint also addresses the accused regularly discussing plans to “wage violent jihad” and join “violent jihadist groups operating in Somalia.” In their discussions, they reportedly considered joining various “violent jihadist groups that were operating in Somalia, including Al-Shabaab, Hizbul Islam, and Ahlu Sunna wa’l Jama’a, ” but Almonte viewed that Al-Shabaab “is the main one… the main thing.”
The criminal complaint states that “On November 29, 2009, in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the presence of Almonte, Alessa stated, in part: “We’ll start doing killing here, if I can’t do it over there.” Alessa also reportedly stated “A lot of people need to get killed, bro, swear to God… I have to get a… assault rifle and just kill anyone that even looks at me the wrong way, bro. Nah, I swear to God, bro. I wanna, like – I’m not – my – my soul cannot rest until I shed blood. I wanna, like, be the world’s known terrorist… I swear to God.” He also reportedly stated: “I’m gonna get a gun…. I’ll have more bodies on it – than the – than the hairs on my beard. You know what I’m saying? It’s already enough, you don’t worship Allah, so… that’s a reason for you to die… We’re being pushed by every corner of the earth, yanni. They only fear you when you have a gun and when you – when you start killing them, and when you – when you take their head, and you go like this, and you behead it on camera, and you – you have to be ruthless bro. I swear to God, bro. Enough of this punk (expletive). It’s that everyone has to be ruthless to – with these people. We’ll start doing killing here, if I can’t do it over there. I’m gonna get locked up in the airport? Then you’re gonna die here, then. That’s how it is. Freaking Major-Nidal-shaved-face-Palestinian-crazy guy; he’s not better than me. I’ll do twice what he did.”
According to the complaint, on November 30, 2009, Alessa instructed Almonte and the FBI undercover agent on how to kill a guard with a knife, and then Alessa told the FBI undercover agent “and whenever they think I’m leaving, they always think I’m gonna come back, yanni. I leave this time, God Willing, I never come back. I’ll never see this crap hole. Only way I would come back here is if I was in the land of jihad and the leader ordered me to come back here and do something here. Ah, I love that.”
The complaint also reveals Alessa talking to Almonte and the FBI undercover agent about saving up money for the trip to Somalia. The complaint indicates that the duo planned to fly to Cairo, Egypt, and then considered various options on getting to Somalia, including taking a boat from Egypt to Somalia. During the discussion on funds saved for the Somalia trip, Alessa reportedly told Almonte and the FBI undercover agent that about stealing equipment, saying “you get your weapons when you get there… and then, you kill non-Muslims and you take the spoils of war. The leader gets them (referring to weapons), and distributes it amongst the ranks. Best life.”
The duo frequently worked out, and according to the complaint “Alessa stated [on January 3, 2010] that stronger muscles mean bigger muscles which means killing more non-Muslims.” On the same date, they listened to another lecture from Anwar al-Awlaki who “emphasized that an individual need not rely on others or have a leader in order to wage violent jihad.”
According to the complaint, on January 17, 2010, Alessa providing instruction to Almonte and the FBI Undercover Agent regarding: “(1) how they should love believers of Islam and hate non-Muslims; (2) the enemies of Allah, specifically: (a) the devil; (b) one’s self; (c) non-believers; (d) hypocrites; (e) Jews; and (f) Christians; and (3) the importance of waging violent jihad.”
THe FBI had been watching the accused for 4 years, and according to the criminal complaint, “On October 9, 2006, a member of the public (‘Individual 1’) who knows the DEFENDANTS sent a tip through the FBI’S website concerning the activities of the DEFENDANTS. In that electronic message, Individual 1 stated” ‘every time they (referring to the DEFENDANTS) access the Internet all they look for is all those terrorist videos about the Islam holly [sic] war and where they kill US soldiers and other terrible things… They keep saying that Americans are their enemies, that everybody other than Islamic followers are their enemies.. and they all must be killed.”
The complaint also stated that a family member told law enforcement that the accused “watched a video on the computer about suicide vest bombs.”
Criminal Complaint
— Criminal complaint against Mohamed Mahmood Alessa and Carlos Eduardo Almonte
List of media reports:
— New Jersey Star-Ledger: Two N.J. men arrested at JFK airport before boarding plane to join Islamist terrorist group, authorities say
— New Jersey Star-Ledger reports: “Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, and Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 26, of Elmwood Park were apprehended at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens before they could board separate flights to Egypt, where they were to start journeys to Somalia”
— “Officials said the suspects were not planning an imminent attack in the New Jersey-New York area but were believed to be joining with the terrorist fight against Americans in Somalia.”
— “Authorities said the men planned to wage jihad as part of a Somalia-based Islamist terror group called al Shabaab, an organization of several thousand fighters spread through Somalia’s southern region. Al Shabaab, whose full Arabic name means ‘Mujahideen Youth Movement,’ has had ties to al Qaeda since 2007, according to national security experts.”
— New Jersey Star-Ledger: Federal authorities charge 2 men from N.J. with pursuing dream of ‘holy war’ in Somalia
— Star-Ledger: “Also according to the complaint, Alessa said he wanted to be more successful at waging jihad than the Fort Hood shooter. ‘He’s not better than me. I’ll do twice what he did.'”
— “He also said he would start his holy war in the United States if he couldn’t get overseas and then hauntingly foreshadowed his own apprehension. “We’ll start doing (killing) here, if I can’t do it over there. I’m gonna get locked up in the airport? Then you’re gonna die here, then.'”
— AFP: Two charged with terror plot against Americans abroad
—- FBI Samuel Robinson: “The defendants discussed in substance and in part, violent jihadist groups operating in Somalia”
— NY Times: 2 New Jersey Men Arrested on Terrorism Charges
— Cliffview Pilot: “Locals charged with joining ‘holy war’ versus U.S.”
— FOX News: Feds Unseal Terror Charges Against 2 NJ Men
— AP: NYPD: 2 NJ terror suspects had tried to go to Iraq
Stock Photo of Somalia Violent Extremists (ABDIRASHID ABDULLE/AFP/Getty Images)