New York man admits to ISIS-inspired terror plot
A New York man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide “material support” to the Islamic State terrorist group and plotting a stabbing spree through Queens, which he allegedly hoped to capture on film.
Awais Chudhary, a naturalized US citizen who was born in Pakistan, entered a guilty plea in a Brooklyn federal court on Friday, after he allegedly reached out to people he thought were members of Islamic State and made preparations for a knife attack in New York City.
“Chudhary has admitted to planning to carry out a lone wolf terrorist attack in Queens against innocent civilians in an embrace of ISIS’s murderous cause,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Prosecutors say the man pledged his loyalty to the group in 2019 after watching “violent terrorist propaganda videos,” and later “began planning for a knife or bomb attack.” He allegedly identified a number of targets around New York's Queens borough and sought advice from individuals he believed were fellow militants, including how to avoid police detection and what type of knife to use.
Chudhary was said to have ordered several items online for the plot, such as a “tactical knife,” a mask and gloves, as well as a “cellphone chest and head strap to facilitate his recording of the attack, which he hoped would serve as inspiration to other ISIS supporters,” according to the Justice Department. He was arrested as he attempted to pick up those goods from a locker used by an online retailer, and now faces 20 years in prison for the terrorism-related charge.
