A Tajik man who illegally lives in the United States has been accused of trying to provide support to the Islamic state and related terrorist groups, including providing money to the families of terrorists killed on the battlefield, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Mansuri Manucekli, 33, who resident of Brooklyn, New York, appeared before a federal judge on Wednesday and was ordered to be detained, authorities said. He is also charged with immigration fraud while illegally owning a gun in the United States, according to court documents.
“Under any circumstances, my Department of Justice will not tolerate terrorism,” Attorney General Pam Bondy said.
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The 33-year-old Mansuri Manuchekhri, painted with a gun, is accused of providing support to the Islamic State terrorist groups and immigration fraud. (Doctor of Justice)
Manucecli is said to have facilitated $70,000 payments to individuals affiliated with ISIS in Türkiye and Syria.
The Islamic State and the Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, have argued responsibility for the attack.
“As allegedly, the defendant, who was illegally in the US, not only promoted tens of thousands of dollars in his contributions to ISIS militants overseas, but also said he was trained with an assault rifle in the range of shooting in the US and declared his preparation to ISIS.
Manuchekhri traveled from Tajikistan to the US on a non-immigrant tourist visa in June 2016 and remained in the country after the visa expired in December 2016.
In March 2017, Manuchekhri is said to have paid American citizens to enter a fake marriage so that they could obtain legal status. However, his petition was rejected after he failed to provide certain support documents, the Justice Department said.
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ISIS has long been playing recruiting and propaganda wars online. (Reuters)
The FBI was warned by Manucekli, a truck driver who frequently traveled around the United States in August 2024 after his family contacted the New York State Terrorism Tips Hotline and expressed concerns that Manucekli might commit violent acts.
The family said Manucekli threatened to kill them multiple times.
Between December 2021 and April 2023, Manucecli sent around $70,000 to people connected to ISIS in Turkey and Syria, federal prosecutors said. He also communicated with someone in Türkiye and said the money would be given to ISIS or ISIS-K members and their families, court documents said.
Additionally, Manuchekhri praised the ISIS attack and has multiple ISIS propaganda videos on his iCloud account. He also owned multiple guns and frequently visited ranges.
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His iCloud account had multiple images of his gun, federal prosecutors said.
If convicted, Manucekli will face up to 45 years of prison.
