NJ man admits to supporting ISIS with library of information for terrorists

Federal authorities say a North Jersey man has admitted to supporting ISIS.

On Friday in Newark federal court, 27-year-old Kyse S. Abushanab of Budd Lake, Morris County, pleaded guilty to one count of concealing material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Officials say from around March 2021 through January 2022, Abushanab compiled resources, including information about building and using weapons of mass destruction, to provide members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its supporters with a library of information and resources to help carry out its mission.

This material included, among other things, videos and documents showing step-by-step instructions on how to make suicide belts or vests, detonators and timers, improvised bombs, and other explosives and incendiary devices.

• MORE NEWS: 30 schools in New Jersey that called police the most

To evade detection by law enforcement, Abushanab took steps to hide his efforts to assist ISIS by using encrypted applications, untraceable email accounts, and a secured cloud storage space to gather and store information on how to make a variety of weapons of mass destruction.

FBI-Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly said in a press release,

At a time when terrorist attacks are fresh in the minds of Americans everywhere, this thwarted effort should serve as a warning to all ISIS and violent extremist ideologists everywhere. The FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force will work tirelessly to stop you and your misguided ideology before you harm innocent victims.

Abushanab now potentially faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for September 24th.