Ohio ISIS supporter sentenced to 20 years in synagogue attack plot

An Ohio man who supported ISIS was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday after planning to attack a synagogue in Toledo, Ohio, according to a Department of Justice press release. 

Damon Joseph, 23, also pleaded guilty to attempting to provide weapons to the terror group. He pleaded guilty to the crimes in May. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and will face supervised release for the rest of his life.

Joseph, who goes by Abdullah Ali Yusuf, initially drew attention from law enforcement in 2018 after posting photographs of weapons and various messages supporting ISIS on his social media accounts. He also shared a photograph originally distributed by the media wing of ISIS.

Joseph engaged in multiple online conversations with undercover FBI agents where he repeatedly reaffirmed his support for ISIS, according to the press release. In the following weeks, he said he wanted to participate in an attack on behalf of the terror group. He forwarded a document that detailed his plans on “Jews who support state of Israel.” His plan included an escape and possible combat with law enforcement.

He later met with an undercover agent, during which he said he wanted to kill a rabbi. He made his target clear when he wrote down the name and address of the synagogue he planned to attack.

After the undercover agent told Joseph he bought rifles for the attack, the two met, where Joseph was arrested on Dec. 7, 2018.

“In a matter of months, Damon Joseph progressed from a self-radicalized, virtual jihadist to planning an actual attack on fellow Americans,” Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith of the FBI’s Cleveland field office said in the press release.

“In the name of ISIS, Joseph planned a mass-casualty attack against citizens simply wanting to attend their desired houses of worship, which were two Toledo-area synagogues,” he added. “Joseph’s terroristic actions are antithetical to a just and free society, and he will serve a lengthy sentence as a result. The FBI would like to remind the public to remain vigilant so we can continue to thwart these types of threats together.”