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6th Man Arrested in NY-NJ ISIS Support Conspiracy

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Nader Saadeh wanted to form “a small army” with his friends to support ISIS.

On Monday, August 10, a New Jersey man was arrested on charges of allegedly conspiring to support the militant group Islamic State. He is the sixth man to be arrested since June in New York and New Jersey as part of what authorities say is a larger plot.

20-year-old Nader Saadeh is a former resident of Rutherford, New Jersey, who wanted to “form a small army” that would consist of his friends, according to the United States attorney for New Jersey.  In May he traveled to Jordan seeking to join ISIS after indulging in the group’s online propaganda. However, soon after arriving in Jordan he was arrested there, but ended up coming back to New Jersey.

Saadeh embraced the ISIS doctrine and attacks in many online correspondences with his would-be collaborators. Between 2012 and 2013, federal investigators say Saadeh sent “electronic messages” that expressed his rage and loathing for the United States. It was at this time that he expressed wanting to form “a small army” with his friends. In one message he wrote, “Think of it, it will probably be like 2-4 yrs from now, we will be in the prime of our lives.”

In 2014, he also, reportedly, posted images of the black and white ISIS flag on his Facebook page. According to the feds, Saadeh did unite with a radicalized group of local men who plotted to join ISIS.

On June 29, his brother, Alaa Saadeh, was arrested. According to authorities, the Saadeh brothers were in habitual contact with Samuel Topaz, also from New Jersey, as well as with Munther Omar Saleh, a college student from Queens.

On June 13, Saleh was arrested along with an unnamed man, who was also taken into custody, after they charged at a surveillance vehicle that had been following them in New York. Topaz’s arrest followed on June 17. 21-year-old Fareed Mumuni was also arrested that same day in his New York home after wielding a knife at a FBI agent who was executing a search warrant.

A friend of Saadeh, who became an informant for the FBI, told investigators that Saadeh openly sympathized with many high-profile terror attacks, such as the one in Paris involving Charlie Hebdo and the murder of a Jordanian pilot. Saadeh expressed the belief that these horrific acts of violence were justified.

On May 5th, he boarded a plane at JFK to Amman, Jordan, where he was detained. About 10 days after he arrived, his father alerted Alaa Saadeh that his brother had been detained there, according to the person who lived with the brothers. Saadeh eventually ended up back in New Jersey.

Saadeh’s mother expressed worry and concern over his radical fantasies. In a text message, she wrote him, “Do not go anywhere if u love me don’t kill your mom.”

Saadeh was scheduled to be arraigned in New Jersey federal court on Monday afternoon. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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