A preacher accused of soliciting support for the Islamic State group was apprehended in his home in Jamaica and brought to New York to face state terrorist charges. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday.Â
In January, the state Supreme Court in Manhattan found Abdullah el-Faisal guilty on charges that included encouraging or supporting acts of terrorism.
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His case was the first state-level prosecution on terrorism-related accusations, according to prosecutors, and the state statute he was charged under was implemented following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
After being detained in Jamaica in 2017, El-Faisal was extradited to New York City in 2020. Authorities claim that an undercover investigator in New York City began posing as a would-be terrorist in 2016 and corresponding with the group.
The preacher was said to have shared information to enable the officer eventually link with the Islamic State group and to have attempted to facilitate a marriage between the officer and a militant organization member.
El-Faisal, according to the prosecution, has long supported the Islamic State group. They said he was highly powerful, promoting an Islamic empire and inciting violence through online lectures.
He was expelled from Kenya and had previously done time in jail in Britain after being found guilty of inciting and stoking racial hate.
Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., the district attorney for Manhattan, announced the sentencing in a statement, “Shaikh Faisal’s advocacy, recruitment, and provision of material support to ISIS helped the terrorist organization perform horrific acts, including the murder and kidnapping of innocent people.” Â
It was unable to contact the cleric’s lawyer, Michael Fineman, through voicemail.
According to federal agents, el-lectures Faisal’s had an impact on persons like Faisal Shahzad, who attempted to detonate a bomb in Times Square in 2010, and Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged underwear bomber who attempted to blow up a transatlantic airplane on Christmas Day 2009.
