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Suffolk County resident Elvis Redzepagic, age 30, of Commack, pleaded guilty on Friday, April 23, to attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front, said Mark J. Lesko, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, in early 2015, Redzepagic began communicating with an individual he believed to be both the commander of a battalion in Syria and a member of ISIS or the al-Nusrah Front and made attempts to join that individual’s battalion to engage in violent jihad.
In July 2015, Redzepagic traveled to Turkey and made multiple unsuccessful attempts to cross the border into Syria. Unable to enter Syria from Turkey, Redzepagic traveled to Jordan in August 2016 but was stopped and deported by Jordanian authorities.
In Facebook messages from October 2015, Redzepagic explained that “jihad” is when “you fight for the sake of God” and “die for the sake of Allah.” Redzepagic stated that he traveled to Turkey to “perform Jihad and join Jabhat Al-Nusra.”
He predicted, “there will come a time where people will only know to say, Allahu Akbar.” In subsequent interviews with law enforcement, Redzepagic admitted that at the time he attempted to enter Syria, he was prepared to strap a bomb to himself.
When sentenced, Redzepagic faces up to 20 years in prison.
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