Accused Isis Recruiter Now Charged With Assault Of Jail Deputies

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:          (716) 843-5817 
FAX:              (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Rochester has returned an Indictment charging Mufid A. Elfgeeh, 31, of Rochester, NY, with three counts of assault. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett A. Harvey and Frank H. Sherman, who are handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on November 10, 2014, Elfgeeh assaulted three jail deputies at the Monroe County Jail.

Elfgeeh was previously indicted in September 2014 and charged with three counts of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a/k/a the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization that is currently conducting a campaign of violence in Syria and Iraq, one count of attempted murder of current and former members of the United States military, one count of possessing firearms equipped with silencers in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of receipt and possession of unregistered firearm silencers. At the time of the alleged assaults at the Monroe County Jail, Elfgeeh was being detained on these earlier charges and he remains in custody. 

The latest indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force which includes the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Greece Police Department, New York State Police, Rochester Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.