Ohio supporter of ISIS pleads guilty in attempted attack on Jewish synagogue
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Northwest Ohio resident admitted Tuesday that he planned to carry out a mass shooting at a synagogue to show his allegiance to ISIS.
Damon Joseph, 23, of Holland pleaded guilty in U.S. District
Court in Toledo to charges of attempting to provide material support to a
terrorist organization and attempting to commit a hate crime. He faces 20 years
in prison when Judge Jack Zouhary sentences him Sept. 14.
Authorities arrested Joseph on Dec. 7, 2018, moments after
he grabbed a duffel bag that contained two semi-automatic rifles from an
undercover FBI agent’s car. Unbeknownst to Joseph, agents disabled the weapons.
Jewish community leaders condemned the plot and praised
federal authorities for stopping it before anyone was hurt. After Joseph’s
arrest, the Anti-Defamation League cited the fact that the plot came just weeks
after 11 people were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“It’s shocking to hear another attack was being planned,”
Jeremy Pappas, then-the director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Cleveland
regional office, said.
The investigation began when the FBI learned of Joseph’s postings
on social media. Undercover agents, posing as sympathizers, connected with
Joseph online about ISIS, and he sent videos about the terrorist group. He
spoke, however, of wanting to do more, records show.
In October, just days after the shootings in Pittsburgh,
Joseph discussed his hatred of Jews, prosecutors said.
“My opinion is the Jews are evil, and they get what’s coming
to them,” Joseph told an agent, adding, “I don’t feel bad at all considering
what they’re doing in Palestine.”
He also told the undercover officer, “I can see myself
carrying out this type of operation.”
Joseph went by the name Abdullah Ali Yusuf. The charges said
he sought to “harm members of the Toledo Jewish community” at an undisclosed
location.
Besides speaking with undercover officers online, Joseph
also recruited a person whom he believed was an ISIS supporter. That person
also was an FBI agent.
On Dec. 6, 2018, he met with the agent and drove to a
synagogue. He discussed the attack and how he would carry it out, authorities
said. Joseph said he wanted to obtain two rifles and two pistols. He feared
that “30 rounds wouldn’t be enough and stated that he wanted to cause a
massacre,” prosecutors said in documents.
The next day, the agent provided the rifles and arrested him
moments later.
“In an oral statement to law enforcement officers, [Joseph]
confirmed his intention to carry out the attack and his desire to cause mass
casualties in support of ISIS,” prosecutors wrote.
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