A man from Queens, New York, was sentenced on Tuesday for planning to carry out a terrorist attack with a knife in New York City for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
In a Tuesday press release, the U.S. Justice Department announced that 25-year-old Awais Chudhary, a resident of Queens, was sentenced to 108 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
“Awais Chudhary pledged allegiance to a brutal terrorist organization and set out to kill American citizens,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Our prosecutors have ensured that he will spend years behind bars for his crimes, and the Department of Justice will continue to protect the American people from all threats foreign and domestic.”
According to the Justice Department, Chudhary pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of ISIS, in 2019 and started to plan a knife or bomb terrorist attack for ISIS. The Justice Department noted that Chudhary identified potential targets, such as the Flushing Bay Promenade and pedestrian bridges over Grand Central Parkway in New York City.
The Justice Department explained that Chudhary tried to get advice from individuals he believed were ISIS supporters, such as what kind of knife to use in an attack and how to avoid leaving evidence for law enforcement officials. The 25-year-old also shared a screenshot of an “ISIS propaganda magazine” with a diagram showing where to stab victims with a knife.
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As part of his preparations, the Justice Department said Chudhary ordered a tactical knife, gloves, a mask, and cellphone straps to record his attack in an effort to inspire other ISIS supporters. Chudhary was later arrested while picking up the items from a locker in Queens.
In addition to planning a knife attack, the Justice Department noted that Chudhary helped recruit English-speaking internet users on behalf of ISIS and helped translate the terrorist organization’s propaganda into English.
In Tuesday’s press release, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said that Chudhary took “real world steps to carry out a lethal terrorist attack” in New York City and had conducted reconnaissance and research to ensure he inflicted “maximum slaughter.”
“Awais Chudhary planned a horrific knife attack in the name of ISIS on civilians in New York, but his plan failed,” Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said. “The men and women of the FBI never lose sight of the threat posed by supporters of ISIS and other terrorist organizations.”
