Broward County Resident Pleads Guilty to Distributing Information Pertaining to Explosives Online

A Broward County resident pled guilty today to distributing information pertaining to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Tayyab Tahir Ismail, 33, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, pled guilty to Count 2 of an Indictment that charged him with distributing information pertaining to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 842(p)(2) (Case No. 18-60352-CR-Moore).  Ismail is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore on May 23, 2019, at 2 p.m.  Ismail faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, up to 5 years of supervised release and up to a $250,000 fine.

According to the court record, including the agreed upon factual proffer, on or about July 16, 2018, through on or about September 17, 2018, Ismail posted and distributed online documents including, but not limited to, documents containing step-by-step instructions on how to construct a bomb and other explosives, with the intent that the information be used for and in furtherance of an activity that constitutes a federal crime of violence, that is, the use or attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. 

On at least four occasions in or around July, August, and September 2018, Ismail posted bomb making instructions on a the internet, on a social media platform.  During that time, Ismail was a member of various rooms within the platform and each of these rooms contained members who support violent jihad.  Ismail posted to these various rooms and his postings could be seen by all members of the room in which the information was posted.  In and around the same time of Ismail’s postings, other members made postings in support of violent jihad. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and South Florida’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in this matter.  The case is being jointly prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen E. Gilbert of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Troy Edwards of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.