Uptown Man Tried To Join Terror Group, Feds Say

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A Washington Heights man is facing federal charges for attempting to join a Pakistan-based terrorist organization linked to the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India.

Jesus Wilfredo Encarnacion, 29, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced. Encarnacion, who was arrested Friday at JFK Airport, could face a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted on both charges.

In November 2018 Encarnacion told others in an online group chat that he desired to join a terrorist group, prosecutors said. One member of the chat introduced Encarnacion to an undercover FBI agent posing as a recruiter for the Pakistan-based group Lashkar e-Tayyiba, prosecutors said.

During the span of several months, Encarnacion spoke with the undercover agent about his desire to join Lashkar e-Tayyiba in the role of "executioner," according to a federal indictment.

"I want to execute. I want to behead. Shoot," Encarnacion messaged the agent, as detailed in the indictment.

Encarnacion told the undercover agent that he had researched Lashkar e-Tayyiba on the internet and saw they were linked to the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. He told the agent "I f****** hate Hindus... They can go to hell and I am going to help you."

The Washington Heights resident also expressed a desire to carry out an attack on the United States, but told the undercover agent that he didn't have the proper guidance or equipment to do so, according to the indictment.

The undercover agent gave Encarnacion directions to get a flight to a European city, where he would wait for a fake visa and transport to Pakistan. When Encarnacion left his home on Friday for JFK he was tailed to the airport by federal agents and arrested at airport security, federal prosecutors said.

"Not only did Mr. Encarnacion express a desire to execute and behead people, he scheduled travel and almost boarded a plane so he could go learn how to become a terrorist. These organizations are using the internet and social media to appeal to the most barbaric impulses in people, and train them to kill," FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney Jr., said in a statement.

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