Prosecutors: NY man tried to join extremists

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A New York man repeatedly traveled to the Middle East to try to join the Islamic State or another extremist group in Syria and later told authorities he’d been prepared to strap on a bomb to sacrifice himself for jihad, prosecutors said Saturday.

And after police on suburban Long Island arrested Elvis Redzepagic on Feb. 2 on a minor, unrelated charge, he told them: “I’m going to leave this country, and I’m going to come back with an Army — Islam is coming,” according to a federal court complaint unsealed Saturday.

The 26-year-old U.S. citizen was being held without bail after appearing in a Brooklyn federal court Saturday. He’s charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

His lawyer, Mildred Whalen, noted that Redzepagic is a citizen and had cooperated with law enforcement.

“We will be working with his family in the hope that the court and the government will see that what he needs is counseling and support, not imprisonment,” she said in an email.

Authorities have prosecuted a number of people accused of aiming to join the Islamic State group and other militants in recent years.