US citizen Karrem Nasr is arrested on terrorism charges after ‘trying to join Somalia’s al Shabaab and threatening to bomb America in support of Hamas’

An American citizen from New Jersey is accused of trying to join the terrorist group Al Shabaab and tweeting threats to bomb America in support of Hamas after the October 7 attack on Israel.

Karrem Nasr, 23, was arrested on December 14 after flying to Nairobi, Kenya, where prosecutors say he planned to meet Al Shabaab members before traveling to train in Somalia, where the terror group is based.

Prosecutors say Nasr posted last month under the .

According to an unsealed complaint, Nasr had lived in Lawrenceville, New Jersey until moving to Egypt in June, and began expressing a desire to join Al Shabaab and wage jihad against the West in November, in response on the war between Israel and Hamas.

“As alleged, Karrem Nasr, motivated by Hamas' horrific terrorist attack on October 7, devoted himself to waging a violent jihad against America and its allies,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

Nasr was arrested after flying from Egypt to Kenya, where prosecutors say he planned to meet Al Shabaab members before traveling to Somalia to train with the terror group.

He is accused of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison.

“Nasr was willing to kill and be killed to support the jihadist cause, and in his own words he described America as 'evil' and the 'head of the snake,'” Williams said.

The accused terrorist was returned to the US on Thursday and was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Manhattan on Friday.

Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Nasr's behalf.

Nasr, who also went by the alias Ghareeb Al-Muhajir, expressed his desire to join Al Shabaab both in online messages and in communications with a paid FBI informant posing as a facilitator for terrorist organizations, according to an indictment was released on 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

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 thought 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.'

A Facebook page identified by DailyMail.com as belonging to Nasr also made veiled references to Hamas.

On October 7, Nasr sarcastically posted a message calling Ukrainians “terrorists” for defending their country against Russian invasion, appearing to draw parallels between that war and the Hamas attack.

“Bullies are being bullied in my neighborhood,” he wrote on Oct. 10, adding “Cornered dogs bite” two days later.

The Facebook page identifies Nasr as a professional copywriter, marketing consultant and 'Insurgent Against Modernity'.

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.