A 21-year-old New Jersey man pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State (ISIS), CNN reported.
Samuel Rahamin Topaz, who was arrested at his Fort Lee home in June, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court. The plea involves one count of conspiring with others to provide services and personnel to the foreign terrorist organization.
Topaz, who is being held without bail, faces up to 20 years in prison under the plea agreement, according to federal prosecutors.
Topaz admitted in court that he had saved money to travel overseas to join ISIS, prosecutors said. He said he discussed his plans with three other men who also face federal terrorism charges: Nader Saadeh, Alaa Saadeh and Munther Omar Saleh.
Topaz said the four men watched ISIS videos, some of which showed the execution of non-Muslims.
On May 5, Nader Saadeh departed the United States with plans to travel overseas to join ISIS, prosecutors said, according to CNN. Topaz admitted in court that he and others planned to travel separately to meet Saadeh before joining ISIS.
After Nader Saadeh left the United States, Topaz met with Saleh and contacted Alaa Saadeh to discuss the plot, prosecutors said.
Nadar Saadeh and Alaa Saadeh have been charged in separate criminal complaints in New Jersey. Saleh was indicted on terrorism-related charges in New York, according to prosecutors.
American authorities have arrested a host of ISIS sympathizers in recent months, often as a result of FBI sting operations.
In March, California resident Adam Dandach, who tried to travel to Syria last year, was charged with attempting to join ISIS.
A week earlier, three New York residents were arrested for plotting to join ISIS in Syria. One of the suspects had expressed intent to buy a machine gun and shoot police officers and FBI agents if thwarted in his plan to join ISIS.
Last October, three American teenage girls from a suburb of Denver were stopped in Germany on their way to join ISIS in Syria.
