The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has arrested and charged Karrem Nasr, an American citizen residing in Egypt since July 2023, for attempting to provide support to al-Shabaab. Nasr, hailing from New Jersey, had traveled to Kenya with intentions to join the extremist group known as al-Shabaab, which is considered to be al-Qaeda’s branch in East Africa.
This bold move followed the attack that Hamas unleashed in southern Israel on October 7. Karrem Nasr has been charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. US Attorney Damian Williams, in a press release, mentioned that Nasr was inspired by the barbaric terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 and subsequently devoted himself to waging violent jihad against America and its allies.
Per the criminal complaint, Nasr had declared that his number one enemy was “evil America”; a term he perceived as the “head of the snake.” Recent social media posts by Nasr contained threats that “Jihad” was “coming soon to a US location near you,” using airplane, bomb and fire emojis to confirm his threat. The complaint also alleges that Nasr demonstrated deliberate actions to associate with and receive military training provided by al-Shabaab. These activities involved arranging flight and accommodation bookings for a potential journey to Kenya, with the ultimate goal of collaborating with al-Shabaab members and travelling to Somalia for training.
Nasr arrived in Kenya on December 14 with the intention to meet al-Shabaab operatives, and to subsequently cross over into Somalia for starting his training program. However, upon reaching Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nasr was detained by Kenyan authorities and handed over to the US authorities.
The FBI managed to infiltrate Nasr’s operations with help from a confidential informant assuming the role of a facilitator for terrorist organizations. The FBI, in its complaint, showed screenshots of conversations on X (previously known as Twitter) between the informant and Nasr. In these exchanges, Nasr voiced his support for jihad and his aspiration to execute terrorist attacks on US soil.
According to the press release from the DOJ, Nasr faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban remarked in response to the charge that “Instead of embracing all that the United States had to offer him, Mr. Nasr allegedly moved abroad and committed himself to supporting a foreign terrorist organization.”