Kyse S. Abushanab, 27, of Budd Lake, N.J., pleaded guilty in U.S. district court on Friday to hiding his efforts to help ISIS, a U.S.-designated terror group. When he is sentenced on Sept. 24, he faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
“The crime that Kyse Abushanab admitted to today threatened the safety of Americans both here and abroad,” stated John Giordano, U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
“Kyse Abushanab gathered and distributed training materials on the making and use of bombs and explosives to ISIS supporters. He concealed these activities through various means, including using encrypted messaging platforms,” Giordano stated. “Abushanab’s activities are a stark reminder that terrorist organizations like ISIS are intent on compromising the safety of Americans around the world.”
“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,” stated Terence Reilly, FBI-Newark acting special agent in charge.
“The FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force will work tirelessly to stop you and your misguided ideology before you harm innocent victims,” Reilly stated.
Per the Justice Department, Abushanab gathered information about making and using weapons of mass destruction around March 2021 and around January 2022. He did so “with the aim of providing members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” or ISIS, per the department.
“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,” according to the Justice Department.
“In an effort to evade detection by law enforcement, Abushanab took steps to conceal his efforts to assist ISIS by, among other things, 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,” it said.
