BROOKLYN, NY – Federal prosecutors announced charges against Syed Aman, a U.S. citizen from Nassau County, who was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 5, 2024, while attempting to board a flight to Doha, Qatar, with plans to ultimately reach Syria and join ISIS. Aman faces charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, an offense carrying severe legal consequences. He is scheduled for an initial court appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo.
The arrest was announced by Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy. According to Peace, Aman’s determined plan to join ISIS was stopped in time. Peace commended the collaborative efforts of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local agencies, alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in preventing Aman’s alleged plan.
The complaint details Aman’s consistent support for ISIS over the past two years, including financial contributions to an individual he believed to be an ISIS operative, social media posts supporting ISIS’s activities, and extensive plans to travel to Syria to join ISIS forces.
Since October 2024, Aman had communicated with a confidential source working with the FBI, expressing strong intentions to travel to Syria for “jihad and hijrah” and voicing violent sentiments against non-believers. Aman reportedly attempted to book flights to the Middle East in October, succeeding only on his third attempt, intending to disembark in Qatar and later travel to Syria via Turkey. He was arrested by the FBI after completing airport security and attempting to board the flight.
This case is being managed by the Office’s National Security & Cybercrime Section, with Assistant United States Attorney Antoinette N. Rangel leading the prosecution, supported by Trial Attorney T.J. Reardon III from the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section.
