N.Y. terror suspect pledged allegiance to Islamic State
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In the days leading up to his arrest last month, a New York terror suspect made hundreds of posts to social media expressing his support for the Islamic State.
According to an FBI affidavit unsealed Friday, Emanuel L. Lutchman recorded audio and video messages proclaiming his allegiance to Islamic State — the militant group also known as ISIS or ISIL — and its leaders and claiming responsibility for the attack he planned to carry out in Rochester on New Year's Eve.
Lutchman, 25, allegedly plotted to kill civilians at a Rochester restaurant/bar on New Year’s Eve. He was charged Dec. 30 with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The affidavit identified accounts for Lutchman on Facebook and Google+ that were full of Islamic State photos and videos.
Pages on YouTube and Google+ attributed to Lutchman contain links to videos featuring messages from Anwar al-Awlaki, who U.S. officials allege was a senior recruiter for al-Qaeda, and footage of Islamic State fighters in western Libya.
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Lutchman chose the Islamic State flag as his profile image, and the cover image is a well-known photo of Islamic State soldiers taken from one of their propaganda videos, with the phrase “ad-Dawlat al Khilafah al Islamiyah” emblazoned across the top — Arabic for “the Islamic State caliphate.”
Lutchman’s postings include some graphic and disturbing images, including photos of dead and injured soldiers and pictures of the beheading of American journalist James Foley.
Several hundred posts made in the week before his arrest are mostly links to videos or reposts of other people’s content, sometimes preceded by short comments like “must read” or “so true.”
On Dec. 26, Lutchman posted a series of photos that purports to show two people being executed by masked gunmen in Syria. Lutchman wrote “This what happens to spies n im happy that they got rid of them (sic)”
There are also links to radical Islamist eBooks with titles such as The Revived Caliphate and Hijrah to the Islamic State: What to pack, who to contact where to go.
A YouTube account for Lutchman contains a playlist of Islamic State and jihadi propaganda videos labeled “dawlatul islam baqqiya,” which translates as “The Islamic State endures.”
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The earliest post made to Lutchman’s Google+ account was on Nov. 28, 2015. The last post was made at 8:51 a.m. on Dec. 30, hours before the FBI arrested him.
In the affidavit for a search warrant, FBI Special Agent Timothy J. Klapec describes the investigation of Lutchman and some of the evidence gathered against him, including information from confidential informants, online communications and recordings of conversations.
Klapec wrote that Lutchman claimed to have received direction from an overseas member of Islamic State and attempted to commit the attack on behalf of the militant group and in furtherance of his plan to join the group overseas.
According to the affidavit, Lutchman told a confidential informant that he had first made contact with someone overseas on Dec. 25 or 26 who identified himself as a “brother” with Islamic State.
In these text message conversations, which he showed to the informant, Lutchman expressed his hatred for everything in America and declared his intention to travel to join Islamic State in Syria.
The alleged militant group contact told Lutchman that if he did not have someone to vouch for him, he would have to prove himself.
According to the affidavit, Lutchman responded by saying that he was thinking a lot lately about “starting to organtze (his) brothers that (he) know(s) to do operation for the sake of Allaah (sic).”
The overseas individual told Lutchman that all he had to do was plan an operation on New Year’s and kill “1000000s of kuffar.”
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Kuffar is an Arabic word that means non-believer or infidel.
The overseas individual said he would help Lutchman get to Syria, but that first he would need to demonstrate his seriousness.
“New years (sic) is here soon. Do operations and kill some kuffar,” the message said.
Over the next few days, Lutchman made preparations for the attack and discussed his intentions with three different FBI informants. His plan was to plant a bomb inside a restaurant with which he was familiar and to kidnap patrons and to kill them, according to the FBI affidavit.
Lutchman recorded audio and video messages proclaiming his allegiance to Islamic State and its leaders and claiming responsibility for the planned attack.
On Dec. 29, he went to a Walmart store with one of the informants to purchase supplies for the operation, including ski masks, knives, a machete and zip ties.
He was arrested by the FBI the following day.
In a search of Lutchman’s residence, the FBI seized a Samsung Galaxy S3 cellphone that they believe he used to exchange text messages, record videos and makes posts to various social media sites.
A search of the phone revealed video recordings, communications between Lutchman and his co-conspirators, and contact information and social media accounts for individuals communicating with him.
Lutchman appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 11.
Contributing: Gary Craig, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. Follow Sean Lahman on Twitter: @seanlahman