Federal prosecutors have accused an Egyptian national living here in the United States with pushing for violence against Jews and for also making a plan for what’s being called a “mass casualty” attack on the Israeli consulate. Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, who is only 18, and is currently enrolled as a student at George Mason University living in Falls Church, Virginia, was taken into custody by the FBI on Tuesday for allegedly running a number of online accounts that were heaping praise on ISIS and Al Qaeda.
This information comes from court documents that were released publicly. Hassan was also allegedly concocting a plot to launch an attack on Israel’s General Consulate in New York City, which is a location he referred to as a “goldmine of targets.”
“On Tuesday, Virginia resident Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan was arrested by members of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, in Falls Church, VA, on federal charges,” an FBI statement that was given to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The FBI’s New York Office wants to reassure our Jewish community here in New York that our office — along with our law enforcement partners — remains vigilant in our efforts to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to our community, using every tool at our disposal to do so.”
“As always, we urge all community members to report suspicious activity to law enforcement and call 911 in cases of imminent violence or threats to life,” the statement added. “We will continue working to ensure our communities remain safe places for all, and we thank the public for their continued trust and partnership.”
The FBI investigation into Hassan began after the Fairfax County Police Department received an anonymous tip in May that an X (formerly Twitter) account based in Virginia was engaging in “radical and terrorist-leaning behavior,” according to court documents. Hassan posted numerous extremist statements online, such as “martyrs have been guaranteed paradise,” “Islam is a religion of justice, not peace,” denials that Hamas was a terrorist organization and praise of Obama bin Laden.
During the FBI’s investigation, a confidential human source within the agency engaged with Hassan on X, Telegram, Instagram and other online platforms, according to court documents. In these exchanges, Hassan bragged to the FBI source about ISIS growth in Afghanistan and West Africa, provided instructions on how to join ISIS, gave advice on how to create a martyrdom video and attempted to recruit the source to conduct a mass casualty attack.
George Mason University released a statement concerning the arrest of Hassan, revealing that he has officially been banned from ever setting foot on campus again. That’s good news for sure, but something tells me he never really planned to be a good student or graduate with a degree. I think he was sent here to infiltrate the country and carry out terrorist attacks, probably lone wolf style. He’s young and to the radical Islamic mind, expendable.
“Although the student did not live on campus, he has been barred from entering university property. As criminal proceedings progress, the university will take appropriate action on student code of conduct violations,” university President Gregory Washington explained in a public statement, taking an opportunity to announce the implementation of additional on-campus security measures.
“Hassan’s extremist activity had already been known by federal law enforcement officials for at least two years. Court documents show he had been previously interviewed by the FBI in 2022, when he was a minor, for his online support of ISIS,” the Daily Caller reported, going on to add, “The Egyptian national is currently in deportation proceedings with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, his history with the agency is not completely clear. A spokesperson for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
The report closed by saying the arrest of Hassan is not the only one of its kind to take place recently. Sidi Mohamed Abdellahi, 22, a Mauritain national living in the country illegally, was arrested in October for allegedly opening fire on an Orthodox Jewish man who was on his way to a synagogue in Chicago, shouting the infamous “Allahu Akbar” while shooting at police and first responders.
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