AKIPRESS.COM - Citizen of Tajikistan was arrested in the United States for support of ISIS.

Mansuri Manuchekhri, 33, from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested today for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and to the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), possessing firearms while unlawfully in the United States, and immigration fraud. Manuchekhri was arrested today and made his initial appearance this afternoon in the Eastern District of New York, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.

FBI Director Kash Patel said that the defendant allegedly supported ISIS and sent thousands of dollars overseas to individuals connected to ISIS.

According to the prosecutor's office, Mansuri Manuchekhri was in the United States illegally.

As alleged in the complaint, Manuchekhri traveled to the United States from Tajikistan in June 2016 on a non-immigrant tourist visa and remained in the country after his visa expired in December 2016. In March 2017, Manuchekhri paid an American citizen to enter into a sham marriage with him so that he could obtain legal status in the United States. However, he failed to provide supporting documentation that was requested of him and his petition was never granted.

From approximately December 2021 through April 2023, while residing in Brooklyn, Manuchekhri facilitated more than $50,000 in payments to ISIS-affiliated individuals in Turkey and Syria, including to an individual who was later arrested by Turkish authorities for his alleged involvement in a January 2024 terrorist attack on a church in Istanbul for which ISIS-K publicly claimed responsibility. Manuchekhri expressed his support for ISIS to others by praising past ISIS attacks in the United States and by collecting jihadi propaganda videos promoting violence and martyrdom, the Department of Justice said.

The complaint further alleges that Manuchekhri possessed and used firearms and made frequent visits to shooting ranges even though he was prohibited from doing so as an alien unlawfully in the United States.

If convicted, Manuchekhri faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison.