Man, Who Posed With Guns, Arrested For Sending Money To ISIS In US

A Tajikistan man living illegally in the US has been arrested for allegedly helping the terrorist group ISIS. Mansuri Manuchekhri sent $70,000 (over Rs 61 lakh) to people linked to ISIS between December 2021 and April 2023, believing it was going to help the families of dead ISIS fighters, according to reports.

During a court hearing in New York's Brooklyn, Manuchekhri was denied bail. Prosecutors argued that his messages with ISIS-affiliated people suggested he may be preparing a violent assault to support the organisation.

According to the federal complaint, the 34-year-old texted a Turkish contact, "Thank God, I am ready, brother," along with a 17-second video of him shooting an assault rifle at a shooting range in New Jersey. He also said that he went for training at least once or twice a week.

Manuchekhri, a truck driver, came to the US in 2016 on a tourist visa. But after it expired, he faked a marriage with a stripper from the Bronx in 2017 to get a green card. His ex-wife reported him to the authorities.

Officials also reported that Manuchekhri, who was living illegally in Brooklyn, often used to show off his gun skills to his friends who sympathised with ISIS. According to court documents, federal officials found a picture of Manuchekhri joyfully flashing two AK-47 guns into the air.

According to the authorities, one of the men Manuchekhri planned to transfer the funds to, was arrested by Turkish officials on January 28 for carrying out a vehicle bombing terrorist attack on the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul.

The complaint claims that Manuchekhri told his ex-wife that he was a fan of Sayfullo Saipov, the Uzbek national who carried out the deadly 2017 terror attack in New York City.

He was arrested by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York on charges of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, illegal possession of firearms and immigration fraud. He may face up to 45 years in prison.