An alleged Isis supporter has been arrested in New York on suspicion of planning a New Year’s Eve terror attack on a restaurant, prosecutors say.
Emanuel Lutchman, 25, has been charged with attempting to provide material support to the terrorist organisation.
According to U.S. officials, Lutchman was receiving direction from an overseas Isis member and planned to carry out an armed attack with a machete against citizens at a restaurant in Rochester, New York state.
Assistant Attorney General, John Carlin, said:
He planned to kill innocent civilians on New Year’s Eve in the name of the terrorist organisation. Thankfully, law enforcement was able to intervene and thwart Lutchman’s deadly plans.
This arrest comes as the U.S. stepped up security for New Year’s Eve celebrations in fear of a terrorist attack after the brutal killings in Paris last month.
ReutersThe FBI claims he expressed hatred for everything in American and spoke of how he hoped to travel abroad to join the group. He said he had been in contact with an Isis member in Syria, who described membership of the organisation as ‘a dream come true’.
According to the criminal complaint, he was instructed to ‘do operations’ and ‘kill 1000000s of kuffar’ in order to prove his allegiance.
As well as planning to target a restaurant for his attack, he also proposed kidnapping a couple of people and killing them.
AFPHe was arrested on Wednesday after recording a video on his mobile photo pledging his loyalty to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
