A criminal complaint was filed today in federal court in
Brooklyn charging Ashiqul Alam with knowingly receiving two firearms with
obliterated serial numbers in Brooklyn, New York. Alam was arrested yesterday and is scheduled
to be presented this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L.
Pollak.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P.
O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the
arrest.
“As alleged, Ashiqul
Alam bought illegal weapons as part of his plan to kill law enforcement
officers and civilians in a terrorist attack on Times Square,” stated United
States Attorney Donoghue. “What he did
not know was that he was buying weapons from government agents, who were
monitoring his plans and intervening to prevent those plans from escalating
into deadly violence. This Office,
together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to exercise extreme
vigilance to prevent terrorists from attacking our city and our country.”
“There is more to this case than just talk and the desire to
carry out a terrorist attack. Individuals who believe in the distorted and
deadly propaganda of terrorist organizations and work toward acting on those
deadly impulses are incredibly dangerous and unpredictable,” said FBI Assistant
Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Mr. Alam
allegedly then took the steps to follow through on his deadly impulse,
purchasing weapons to kill New Yorkers, target an elected official and attack
police officers. The FBI New York Joint
Terrorism Task Force and the NYPD Intelligence Bureau will simply not allow
individuals to execute their plots, and our team will use every legal tool
available to us to protect our community and remain ahead of the threat
individuals like Alam pose to our communities.”
“Mr. Alam discussed guns, suicide vests, hand grenades, and
surveilled crowded New York targets such as Times Square”, said Police
Commissioner O’Neill. “Our job is to prevent these terrorist attacks whenever
we can before they are carried out. This case is another example of the
tightly-knit teamwork of the JTTF and the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau. Mr. Alam
is charged with illegally purchasing untraceable firearms from undercover
officers. That was a clear indicator of his intent to move his plot forward.”
As alleged in the complaint, between August 2018 and the
present, Alam repeatedly expressed a desire to purchase firearms and explosives
for use in a terrorist attack. Alam
identified two targets, either Times Square or Washington, D.C., in order to
kill a senior government official. In
January 2019, Alam conducted several “recon” trips to Times Square, using his
cellular telephone to make a video recording of the area as he searched for
potential targets. Alam considered
multiple ways to conduct such an attack, including by using a “suicide vest”
and by obtaining AR-15 assault rifles to kill law enforcement officers.
Alam conducted research about firearms on the internet and
discussed purchasing firearms with an undercover law enforcement officer
(“UC-1”). In March 2019, Alam told UC-1
that he would be interested in buying a Glock 9mm pistol. UC-1 introduced Alam to an “associate,” who offered
to help Alam procure two illegal Glock G19 pistols. In April 2019, Alam underwent Lasik eye
surgery, a procedure whose value he explained: “Let’s say we are in an attack,
right, say that my glasses fall off.
What if I accidentally shoot you?
You know what I mean. Imagine
what the news channel would call me the ‘Looney Tunes Terrorist’ or the ‘Blind
Terrorist.’”
In May 2019, Alam was told that the firearms he wanted to
buy would have obliterated serial numbers, and he replied “Oh, that’s good
man.” Alam then had repeated
conversations and meetings with individuals he believed were going to sell him
firearms, including one meeting in which he was shown hand grenades for
purchase. Alam subsequently discussed
buying grenades because a grenade could “take out at least eight people.” Alam also asked to order ammunition as well
as weapons because, he said, “What is the point of getting a gun without ammo?”
On June 6, 2019, Alam
met the individual he believed was going to sell him firearms and was shown two
Glock 19 semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers. The defendant provided $400 towards the
purchase of the two pistols and asked whether he could also buy a
silencer. The defendant was arrested
shortly thereafter.
The charge in the complaint is an allegation, and the
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s
National Security and Cybercrime Section.
Assistant United States Attorneys David K. Kessler, Michael Keilty and
Jonathan Algor are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial
Attorney Jacqueline L. Barkett of the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism
Section.
The Defendant:
Ashiqul Alam
Age: 22
Queens, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-M-0531
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