New Jersey Man Admits To Concealing Material Support And Resources To ISIS

NEWARK, N.J. – A Morris County man today admitted to having concealed his efforts to provide material support and resources to ISIS, U.S. Attorney John Giordano, Sue Bai, Head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, and FBI-Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly announced.

Kyse S. Abushanab, 27, of Budd Lake, New Jersey pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to a one-count information charging him with concealing material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

“The crime that Kyse Abushanab admitted to today threatened the safety of Americans both here and abroad,” said U.S. Attorney John Giordano. “Kyse Abushanab gathered and distributed training materials on the making and use of bombs and explosives to ISIS supporters. He concealed these activities through various means, including using encrypted messaging platforms. Abushanab’s activities are a stark reminder that terrorist organizations like ISIS are intent on compromising the safety of Americans around the world. We and our law enforcement partners are fully committed to disrupting these activities to restore safety and security.”

“At a time when terrorist attacks are fresh in the minds of Americans everywhere, this thwarted effort should serve as a warning to all ISIS and violent extremist ideologists everywhere,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Reilly said. “The FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force will work tirelessly to stop you and your misguided ideology before you harm innocent victims.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between in or around March 2021 and in or around January 2022, Abushanab compiled resources, including information pertaining to the manufacture and use of weapons of mass destruction, with the aim of providing members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS” or “the Islamic State”), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and its supporters with a repository of information and resources to help carry out ISIS’s mission. This material included, among other things, videos and documents showing step-by-step instructions on how to make suicide belts or vests, detonators and timers, improvised bombs, and other explosives and incendiary devices. In an effort to evade detection by law enforcement, Abushanab took steps to conceal his efforts to assist ISIS by, among other things, using encrypted applications, untraceable email accounts, and a secured cloud storage space to gather and store information on how to make a variety of weapons of mass destruction.

The charge of concealment of provision of material support carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for September 24 2025.

U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Reilly, and the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James M. Gannon, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek of the National Security Unit in Newark, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.

                                                                    ###

Defense counsel: Robert C. Scrivo, Esq. and Andrew Gimigliano, Esq.