NEW YORK // US authorities said on Thursday they had arrested and charged a 25-year-old American Muslim convert over an alleged attempt to launch a New Year’s Eve attack in upstate New York in the name of ISIL.
Emanuel Lutchman was charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIL, the justice department said – a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Mr Lutchman, who lives in Rochester, New York, was in contact with an individual who claimed to be an IS member in Syria and who encouraged him to carry out an attack to prove his mettle, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The 25-year-old American armed himself with two knives, a machete, duct tape, zip ties and ski masks to carry out an attack on Thursday on an unnamed Rochester restaurant, court documents released by US authorities revealed.
Federal agents arrested Lutchman on Wednesday. He made an initial court appearance on Thursday.
“This New Year’s Eve prosecution underscores the threat of ISIL even in upstate New York, but demonstrates our determination to immediately stop any who would cause harm in its name,” said federal prosecutor William Hochul.
Mr Hochul, the US attorney for the western district of New York, said Mr Lutchman’s arrest sent a message to others plotting attacks in the name of the extremist group.
“You will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished,” he said.
Authorities said Mr Lutchman’s plot was to be carried out “on behalf of ISIL and in furtherance of his plan to join ISIL overseas”.
The 25-year-old is a self-professed Muslim convert with a criminal history dating back nearly 10 years that includes a robbery conviction. He spent about five years in prison.
Rochester is located in the western part of New York state on Lake Ontario, more than 530 kilometres north-west of Manhattan.
Authorities in the West are on edge as 2016 arrives, especially in the wake of the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people, and a deadly December 2 gun attack in San Bernardino, California by a Muslim couple believed to have been inspired by ISIL ideology.
Both Paris and Brussels cancelled New Year’s Eve fireworks displays as soldiers and police ramped up security in European capitals over perceived terror threats.
In New York’s Times Square, where one million people were expected to gather for the traditional ball drop ceremony, thousands of police officers were deployed, including hundreds who are part of a new antiterror force.
* Agence France-Presse