FBI arrests New York resident at JFK after attempt to join ISIS

A US citizen was arrested in Queens, New York for attempting to pass information to ISIS, the US Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

Syed Aman, a resident of Nassau County, New York, planned to travel to Syria and join the Islamic State's terror organization. Instead, he was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport before he had a chance to board his flight.

A criminal complaint was filed against Aman this week in Brooklyn, alleging that throughout 2023 and 2024, he showed his support for ISIS on social media, sent money to someone he believed to be directly connected with the terrorist organization, and planned to fly out of the US to wage war of behalf of ISIS. 

This information was collected since the beginning of October through an undercover source working with the FBI. 

According to the complaint, Aman tried two separate times to fly to the Middle East, but his credit card company blocked the transactions. It was only on his third attempt to buy a ticket from New York to Bangladesh that the transaction went through. 

The FBI source reported that Aman said he would travel with a steel pen to defend himself if he were arrested and that he would attack law enforcement. When arrested, said pen, along with his belongings, were confiscated.