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Marcos Alonso Zea, 25, of Brentwood, was arrested for allegedly plotting to join a branch of al Qaeda in Yemen.
A Long Island man was arrested early Friday by the FBI for plotting to travel to Yemen to join al Qaeda.
Marcos Alonso Zea, 25, was part of a suburban duo of wannabe jihadists seeking a big adventure overseas with terrorists, prosecutors said.
Earlier this year, the feds unsealed the guilty plea of Zea’s 18-year-old pal, Justin Kaliebe, who also wanted to join Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
“Aspirants with lethal intent who seek terror training abroad are of paramount concern,” said NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
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Zea, who was born in the U.S. and whose parents are of Colombian and Guatemalan origins, came on the radar of the FBI and NYPD last year when he attempted to travel to Yemen, but made it only as the United Kingdom, according to papers unsealed in Long Island Federal Court.
His plan was to join al Qaeda and kill supporters of the current government in Yemen, prosecutors John Durham, Seth DuCharme and Michael Canty stated.
But Zea was not deterred, and went forward with his plan by providing financial help to Kaliebe get to Yemen.
He advised Kaliebe how to evade electronic spying by the U.S. government, and to put his terrorist rantings down on paper rather than discuss them aloud.
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After Kaliebe was arrested at Kennedy Airport last January, Zea figured out he was under investigation as well and asked a friend to destroy the hard drive on his home computer, the prosecutors stated.
But authorities were able to retrieve from the computer articles from al Qaeda’s magazine “Inspire” with titles such as “Why did I choose al Qaeda?” “Know that Jihad is Your Duty,” “AQ Chef: Destroying Buildings,” and “Training with the AK-47″
“Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his country and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder,” said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.
U.S. citizens aspiring to be jihadist warriors are considered valuable operatives by al Qadea because they return to their homeland to wreak havoc after receiving terrorist training abroad.
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Zea’s web searches included “How to make disposable silencers,” “The Anarchist Cookbook” and “How to build practical firearms,” according to court papers.
Zea faces life in prison if convicted of the five-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, providing material support to a terrorist organization and obstruction of justice.
It was not immediately clear when Zea converted to Islam and became radicalized.
He is scheduled to be arraigned before Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay.
Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News
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