U.S. authorities on Thursday charged a New Jersey man with conspiring to support the militant group Islamic State, the fourth person arrested in recent days in the New York City region as part of a broader investigation.
Samuel Rahamin Topez, 21, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, was arrested at his home on Wednesday, the Justice Department said.
According to a criminal complaint, he had communicated frequently with Munther Omar Saleh, a college student from Queens who was arrested on Saturday along with an unnamed co-conspirator when they ran at a surveillance vehicle.
Saleh was accused of plotting to set off an explosive device in the city on behalf of Islamic State.
A third man, Fareed Mumuni, 21, was arrested on Wednesday when he tried to stab an FBI agent executing a search warrant at his home in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
Topez planned to travel abroad to fight alongside Islamic State, prosecutors said.
On Monday, two days after Saleh's arrest, Topez wrote to an unnamed individual, “We gotta leave ASAP,” after he could not reach Saleh, according to court documents.
Ian Hirsch, Topez's court-appointed lawyer, declined to comment on the allegations, saying he needed time to examine them more thoroughly.
Court papers filed in New Jersey also refer to two unnamed co-conspirators from New Jersey, including one who left the United States in May, allegedly to join Islamic State.
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