In a major development, the 'ISIS-inspired' Halloween attack, the federal authorities arrested two 19-year-old Montclair High School students, with one suspect accused of plotting a Boston bombing-style attack, the officials said on Wednesday.
Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzel and Milo Sedarat, both are 19 years old, New York Post reported.
Acting US Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba said the complaint “describes a pattern of antisemitic messages advocating violence, along with images and purchases consistent with preparation for attack, including a knife and sword collection, tactical gear, and images of him practicing at a gun range.”
Sederat and Jimenez-Guzel were arrested on Tuesday. Sederat was arrested at his father's three-storey house in Montclair while Guzel was arrested in a food court in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport, where he was allegedly waiting for a flight to Turkey with the goal of travelling on to Syria for ISIS training.
Officials said he had originally planned to travel on November 17 but moved the date up after news of raids against terror suspects in Detroit.
Photographs, online statement: What evidences led to their arrests
Authorities found numerous ISIS-inspired messages on his phone, including an online statement about conducting a “Boston bombing-like attack” and photographs of him standing in front of the ISIS flag holding a knife. He is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terror group.
Investigators said the two suspects were part of a chat group where members discussed plans for a Halloween attack codenamed “Pumpkin” and shared material on mass shootings and terrorist attacks, including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Columbine and the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting.
What happened in the Court?
At brief court appearances in Newark on Wednesday, Sedarat arrived shackled at the wrists and ankles, wearing a grey hoodie, tousled hair and a faint moustache. Magistrate André Espinosa ordered him held at Essex County jail.
Jimenez-Guzel, towering over US Marshals, remained silent except to confirm he understood the charges and potential penalties, which prosecutors said include up to 20 years in prison per count, a fine of $250,000 and lifetime supervised release.
Judge Espinosa granted a no-contact order prohibiting the teens from communicating with each other or co-conspirators. Both defence attorneys declined requests for comment at the federal courthouse.
The New Jersey arrests came two days after two Dearborn, Michigan, men were charged with supplying weapons for an ISIS-inspired attack allegedly targeting gay bars in Detroit. Police also arrested Ayob Nasser, 19, of Dearborn, on Wednesday for his role in acquiring weapons and supporting ISIS.
Who were Sederat and Guzel?
Guzel and Sedarat both lived in Victorian houses in the manicured New York City suburb valued at over $1 million. The family home of Sedarat, located in Montclair, was valued at $1.2 million, according to public records.
Jimenez-Guzel’s mother, Meral Guzel, heads the United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship programme. She has worked on women’s empowerment projects for more than a decade, having previously been in the finance sector, according to her LinkedIn account.
Sedarat’s father, Roger Sedarat, is an award-winning Iranian-American poet and a professor at Queens College, New York City, and teaches in the MFA programme.
Both young men attended Montclair High School. Jimenez-Guzel, a hulking 6-ft-1 and 235 lb, played defence end on the football team. Sedarat was on the wrestling team.