Alaa Saadeh of West New York, NJ, Arrested Today; One of Four Alleged ISIL Conspirators

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 7pm

NEWARK, NJ - Monday morning, Alaa Saadeh, 23, was arrested at his West New York home in Hudson County for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to ISIL - the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," a designated foreign terrorist organization, US Attorney Paul J. Fishman 
announced.  

The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) have been investigating a group of at least five individuals from New York and New Jersey who are allegedly involved with actively promoting ISIL. Saadeh, a United States citizen, is the fourth individual that the Department of Justice has noted is part of this current ISIL investigation. 

Charges
Saadeh was charged with the following:

• Conspiring with other individuals in New Jersey and New York to provide services and personnel to ISIL
• Aiding and abetting an attempt to provide services and personnel to ISIL
• Attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI

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ISIL

• October 15, 2004 Terrorist Designation
  al-Qa'ida in Iraq (then known as Jam'atal Tawhid wa'alJihad)
  was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization
  

• May 15, 2014 Terrorist Designation
  The designation was amended to add the alias:
  - Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - "ISIL"
  - Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham - "ISIS"
  - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - "ISIS"
  - ad-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi al-'Iraq wa-sh-Sharn
  - Daesh
  - Dawla al Islarniya
  - Al-Furqan 
  
• ISIL Violence:
  - mass executions 
  - kidnappings of targeted civilians 
  - killed and maimed children 
  - committed rape and other forms of sexual violence
• ISIL Territory:
  - Iraq and Syria 
• "Islamic State"
  In 2014, ISIL began referring to itself as the "Islamic State" and declared that it had established an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria
  - a Caliphate is a form of Islamic government which is led by a person considered to be a successor of the Prophet Muhammad
• Recruitment 
  - ISIL urged Muslims to travel to Iraq and Syrai in an effort to secure the territory ISIL claims to control for the Caliphate 
  - ISIL has recruited thousands of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria from across the globe
  - ISIL uses social media and videos to spread its ideology and to incite others to commit terrorist acts in other countries
  - ISIL recruiting videos show its fighters with assault rifles and other weapons and graphically depict them executing individuals they have captured 

Information Gathered from Case Documents
The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) have been investigating a group of individuals from New York and New Jersey who have allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIL.

"Conspirator 1"

• The first male individual - "Conspirator 1"
  - age 20
  - lived in Rutherford
  - Dual citizenship: United States and Jordan
  - brother of Saadeh
• "Conspirator 1" is suspected of traveling to the Middle East (with an ultimate destination of Syria and Iraq) out of John F. Kennedy International Airport and that Saadeh purchased his ticket

• On route to the airport, "Conspirator 1" was reportedly joined by "Conspirator 2" and Saadeh; they reportedly discussed reuniting as a group - along with Samuel Rahamin Topaz  - in a few weeks time overseas to join ISIL
• The group reportedly referred to this plan as "Hijra"

• "Conspirator 1" left the United States on May 5; it is alleged that he then joined ISIL
• The family of  "Conspirator 1" reportedly informed "Conspirator 2," Saadeh and Topaz that he had been arrested in Jordan and was suspected of supporting ISIL 
  
  

"Conspirator 2"

• The second individual - "Conspirator 2"
  - age 20
  - resides in Queens 
  - United States citizen
• After arrest of "Conspirator 1," Saadeh, Topaz, and "Conspirator 2" reportedly continue to discuss "Hijra" - their plans to reunite overseas 
  
  

Samuel Rahamin Topaz

• The third individual - Samuel Rahamin Topaz
  - age 21
  - resides in Fort Lee
  

• - United States citizen
  
• Text messages recovered from Topaz's phone allegedly reflect the group's plan to reunite overseas: 
  Text Message: May 21 
   - Saadeh and Topaz discussed the need to “lay low” and decide to refrain from taking any further action in an effort to avoid detection by law enforcement
  -The two also allegedly discussed needing to meet in person to discuss Hijra
  

Alaa Saadeh

• Reportedly, on May 22, Saadeh told a fifth individual that he suspected that either "Conspirator 2" or Topaz had "snitched" on "Conspirator 1" and caused his arrest in Jordan; Saadeh continued that - if that ends up being true - he would have to “kill someone”
• In recorded conversations with an informant, Saadeh allegedly stated:
  - he supported ISIL's use of beheadings and mass killings to impose its violent agenda 
  - he planned to travel overseas with "Conspirator 2" “at some point” 
  - he provided "Conspirator 1" with transportation and removed a SIM card from his phone to attempt to hide incriminating data
• Apparently this month, Saadeh became aware that he was under FBI surveillance and allegedly directed another New Jersey individual to not divulge to the FBI what was known about "Conspirator 1" 
  - he instructed the individual to “play dumb” and to be “honest up to a point” but to be sure not to tell the FBI anything about ISIL

Subsequent Arrests
Following the reported arrest of "Conspirator 1" sometime in May in Jordan, the following individuals were also arrested as part of this current investigation:

• "Conspirator 2" was arrested in New York, June 13, and charged with 
  conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization
  
  
• Samuel Rahamin Topaz was arrested June 17 in New Jersey and charged with conspiring to provide services and personnel to ISIL  
  
  
• Alaa Saadeh was arrested Monday, June 29, and charged with:
  - Conspiring with other individuals in New Jersey and New York to provide services and personnel to ISIL
  -Aiding and abetting an attempt to provide services and personnel to ISIL 
  - Attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI 
  
  

Penalties
Each count in the complaint carries:

• a maximum of potential penalty of 20 years in prison
• a fine of $250,000
  

Investigative Team
Fishman credited the following in leading to today’s arrest:

• The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel of the FBI’s Newark Division
  

Trial Representation
The US Government will be represented by:

• Assistant U.S. Attorneys L. Judson Welle, Dennis C. Carletta, and Francisco J. Navarro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit in Newark, with the assistance of Trial Attorney Robert J. Sander of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section
  

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