• News & Analysis
    • All News & Analysis
    • American Values & Politics
    • Sharia Governance & Values
    • US Hate Groups & Crimes
    • Overseas Extremism
    • US Islamist Activity
    • Fact Sheets & Special Reports
    • Subscribe
  • Intelligence Network
  • Films
  • Activism
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • News & Analysis
    • All News & Analysis
    • American Values & Politics
    • Sharia Governance & Values
    • US Hate Groups & Crimes
    • Overseas Extremism
    • US Islamist Activity
    • Fact Sheets & Special Reports
    • Subscribe
  • Intelligence Network
  • Films
  • Activism
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Contact Us
Search
Close
Donate
Menu
Home American Values & Politics

Despite COVID-19, Violent Islamists Scheme in US, Justice Follows

by Clarion Project
May 18, 2020
Reading Time: 3min read
Even during the coronavirus crisis, the FBI is still after violent Islamists that threaten the US (Photo: YURI GRIPAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Even during the coronavirus crisis, the FBI is still after violent Islamists that threaten the US (Photo: YURI GRIPAS/AFP via Getty Images)

COVID-19 or not, violent Islamists in the U.S. continue to try to perpetrate their nefarious schemes. Law enforcement has been right behind.

 

In Minnesota, a doctor from Pakistan, who was once a research coordinator for the esteemed Mayo Clinic, was indicted on terrorism charges for pledging allegiance to ISIS, planning to travel overseas to join the terrorist group and expressing a desire to carry out lone wolf attacks in the U.S.

Muhammad Masood, 28, was in the U.S. legally on an H-1B Visa. The visa allows foreign workers in specialty occupations to be temporarily employed in the U.S.

The FBI began investigating Masood in January after he posted messages on an encrypted platform expressing his support for ISIS. He ended up explaining to an informant that he was a medical doctor with a Pakistani passport and wanted to travel to Syria, Iraq or northern Iran near Afghanistan “to fight on the front line as well as help the wounded brothers.”

In another communication, Masood said to an informant, “There is so much I wanted to do here .. .lon wulf [sic] stuff you know … but I realized I should be on the ground helping brothers sisters kids,” according to an FBI affidavit.

On Feb. 21, 2020, Masood purchased a plane ticket from Chicago to Amman, Jordan. From there, he planned to travel to Syria, according to the Justice Department. But on March 16, 2020, Masood was forced to change his travel plans as Jordan had just closed its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Masood subsequently made a new plan to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to meet up with an individual who he believed would assist him in boarding a cargo ship which would take him to ISIS territory.

On March 19, Masood traveled from Rochester to Minneapolis to board a flight to Los Angeles. He arrived at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, checked in for his flight and was promptly arrested by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

 

A Pakistani-American woman from Long Island, New York was sentenced to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges.

Zoobia Shahnaz, who pleaded guilty to the charges, provided more than $150,000 to ISIS and attempted to travel to Syria to join the terrorist group.

Shahnaz defrauded numerous financial institutions to obtain the funds for ISIS, including taking out a loan for close to $22,500. She fraudulently obtained more than a dozen credit cards and used them to purchase approximately $62,000 in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies online. She then made multiple wire transfers totaling more than $150,000 to individuals and entities in Pakistan, China and Turkey that were fronts for ISIS.

Shahnaz also accessed violent jihad-related websites and message boards of ISIS as well as social media and messaging pages of known ISIS recruiters, facilitators and financiers.

She performed numerous internet searches for information to facilitate her entry into Syria. A court-authorized search of Shahnaz’s residence found terrorist and jihad-related propaganda, including a photograph of an explosive belt used in suicide bombings and a night vision scope.

On July 31, 2017, Shahnaz was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, while attempting to board a flight with a layover in Istanbul, Turkey – a common point of entry for those traveling from Western countries to join ISIS in Syria.

 

RELATED STORIES

From South Park to the FBI: the Story of a Former al-Qaeda Recuiter

Facebook Appoints Brotherhood Supporter to New Oversight Board

‘Becoming a father Deradicalized Me’

 

Tags: IndividualsNewsUS
Share321TweetSendSend

Related Posts

Big Tech de-platformed President Trump (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Free Speech

Dark Days for America? Big Tech Wields Cudgel on Conservative Voices

January 10, 2021
Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
Overseas Terrorism

Iran Establishing New Facts on the Ground to Leverage Biden Administration

January 6, 2021
Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Emna Mizouni)
Islamist Regimes

Saudi Arabia Sentences Women’s Rights Activist – Why Now?

December 29, 2020
Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, head of the Council of Islamic Ideology, was also in the spotlight in 2016 when a religious body ruled that men should be allowed to 'lightly beat' their wives in the context of a draft of a women's protection bill. (Photo: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)
Islamist Regimes

Pakistan: Top Cleric Says Israel Belongs to Jews

December 29, 2020
CAIR's founder and executive director Nihad Awad (Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
US Homeland Security

CAIR’s Program for Biden’s First 100 Days

December 27, 2020
Image from ISIS propaganda
Free Speech

Should Extremist Content Be Taken Down or Should We Talk About It?

December 20, 2020

Most Read

Dark Days for America? Big Tech Wields Cudgel on Conservative Voices

5 days ago

A Look at What’s Ahead for 2021

1 week ago

From Street Thugs to the High-Brow Salon Circles, the Right to Free Speech Is Increasingly Under Attack

3 months ago

Iran Establishing New Facts on the Ground to Leverage Biden Administration

1 week ago

Pakistan: Top Cleric Says Israel Belongs to Jews

2 weeks ago

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

By entering your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

contact us

[email protected]
1-888-610-2221

locate us

2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Suite 395, Washington, DC 20006

follow us

Youtube
Facebook-f
Twitter

News & Analysis

  • American Values & Politics
  • Sharia Governance & Values
  • US Hate Groups & Crimes
  • US Islamist Activity
  • Overseas Extremism
  • Fact Sheets & Special Reports
  • Subscribe

Intelligence Network

  • About Clarion Intel Network
  • Fuqra Files
  • US Extremists Map

Films

  • Iranium
  • Honor Diaries
  • Faithkeepers
  • Kids
  • Short Films

Activism

  • Preventing Violent Extremism
  • Exposing Foreign Funding
  • Our Speakers

about us

  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • Advisory Board
  • Partnerships
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Donor Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
© Clarion Project Inc. 2020 — All Rights Reserved
501(c)(3) EIN #20-5845679
Menu
  • News & Analysis
    • All News & Analysis
    • American Values & Politics
    • Sharia Governance & Values
    • US Hate Groups & Crimes
    • Overseas Extremism
    • US Islamist Activity
    • Fact Sheets & Special Reports
    • Subscribe
  • Intelligence Network
  • Films
  • Activism
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Contact Us
Search
Donate