A 24-year-old resident of Maryland was charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State by planning to shoot a member of the U.S. military, federal officials said Monday.
Federal agents picked up on the alleged plans of Nelash Mohamed Das – a citizen of Bangladesh living in Hyattsville – and placed him under surveillance.
At one point, a confidential source provided Das with a gun, and on Sept. 30 he arrived at the Maryland address of his target, according to federal officials.
At the time, “Das believed that the firearms could fire ammunition; in reality, they had been rendered inert by the FBI,” federal officials said.
Das was taken into custody there after a short chase.
“The danger posed by Mr. Das during this investigation was very real. He was committed to carrying out an attack against a military member,” said Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI’s Baltimore Division in a statement announcing the charge.
Das appeared in court on Monday and was ordered detained until a hearing set for Thursday. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
According to an affidavit filed by federal officials, Das was admitted to the United States in 1995 and is a legal permanent resident.
From September 2015 to early 2016, Das used social media to express his support for ISIS, including support for terrorist attacks in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, California, according to federal officials.
“Our goal is to catch dangerous suspects before they strike, while respecting constitutional rights,” said U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Dan Morse
