US citizen inspired by Hamas sought to wage jihad against 'No. 1 enemy' America, prosecutors say
NEW YORK — A U.S. citizen living in Egypt tried to join the terrorist organization Al Shabaab and wage a violent jihad against America and its allies in the aftermath of Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Karrem Nasr, 23, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, was arrested on December 14 after flying from Egypt to Nairobi, Kenya, where prosecutors say he planned to meet with Al Shabaab members before traveling to Somalia to train , where the terrorist group is based. .
Nasr was returned to the US on Thursday and was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Manhattan on Friday. He is accused of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison.
Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Nasr's behalf.
Nasr, also known as Ghareeb Al-Muhajir, expressed his desire to join Al Shabaab in online messages and communications with a paid FBI informant posing as a facilitator for terrorist organizations, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.
Nasr told the informant that “the greatest enemy is America,” which he described as the “head of the snake,” according to the complaint. He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that jihad was “coming to an American location soon.” near you,” the complaint states. The post, under the name “Egyptian Muslim,” contained airplane, bomb and fire emojis.
Nasr, who moved to Egypt in July, began communicating with the FBI informant through an encrypted messaging app in November, the indictment said. He told the informant that he had been thinking about waging jihad for “a long time” but was “unable to do so” before Hamas attacked Israel, the complaint said.
“After the events of October 7, I felt like something had changed,” Nasr told the informant, according to the complaint. 'For the better, I mean. I felt that pride and dignity were returning to the Muslims.'
The US designated Al Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization in 2008.
The group emerged from a coalition of Islamist insurgents who fought Somalia's fledgling central government and took control of large parts of the territory in the early 2000s. The country is blamed for numerous acts of violence, including suicide bombings, beheadings and targeted killings of civilians and journalists.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has pledged to eradicate Al Shabaab within a year. The group has lost ground since the government, backed by local militias, African Union troops and Western powers, launched a wide-ranging offensive against the group in May.