NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A New York City man and his wife admitted Monday to supporting ISIS more than a year after they were arrested at a New Jersey port as they attempted to board a cargo ship that an undercover law enforcement officer said would take them to Yemen.
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“Husband and wife James Bradley and Arwa Muthana admitted today to their support of ISIS, a violent extremist terrorist organization. ... Just one day after the anniversary of 9/11, today's prosecution of Bradley and Muthana exemplifies that the resolve of this Office and our law enforcement partners will never waiver, and we will never forget," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
According to prosecutors, Bradley, 21, expressed violent extremist views since at least 2019, including his desire to support ISIS by traveling overseas to join the terrorist group or committing a terrorist attack in the United States.
He admitted to an undercover law enforcement officer in 2021 that he thought ISIS might be beneficial for Muslims because it was establishing a caliphate.
Bradley also expressed his desire to carry out a terrorist attack in the U.S. and talked about potentially attacking the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. He explained that if he could not leave the country, he would do "something" in the United States instead, referring to carrying out an attack.
In June 2020, he reaffirmed his interest to the officer in attacking a military base, and that doing so would be his contribution to the cause of jihad.
Last January, the 21-year-old mentioned another New York State university to the officer, where he frequently saw Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets training, prosecutors said. He said he could use his truck in an attack and that he, along with Muthana, 30, could take all of the ROTC cadets "out."
Later that month, he married Muthana, from Alabama, in an Islamic marriage ceremony. Before their wedding, the newlyweds plotted, planned and finally attempted to fly to the Middle East together in order to join and fight with ISIS.
After traveling to Alabama to visit Muthana, prosecutors said, Bradley approached the undercover officer with the idea of traveling on a cargo ship to join ISIS. The officer connected Bradley with a "facilitator" — another undercover officer — and Bradley paid that person $1,000 in cash for travel costs, prosecutors said.
Bradley told that officer that he and Muthana planned to be "fighting" upon arrival in Yemen and that he’d had a dream that he had given an oath of allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, prosecutors said.
On March 25, 2021, the second undercover officer told Bradley that the cargo ship would be leaving on March 31 from the Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey. Prosecutors said the 21-year-old praised Allah and confirmed he and Muthana planned to travel on the ship.
Six days later, the couple met with the second undercover officer en route to the seaport. In a meeting with the agent, Muthana confirmed that she was traveling to the Middle East to fight for ISIS.
Both were arrested on the gangplank of the ship. Muthana waived her Miranda rights and said during an interview that she was willing to fight and kill Americans if it was for Allah, according to prosecutors. That same day, the FBI conducted a court-ordered search of a bedroom previously used by Bradley and seized what appears to be a hand-drawn image of a jihadi flag commonly used by ISIS and a hand-drawn map of the Pakistan region.
Prosecutors said that the months and years prior to their arrests, the couple also accessed, posted and distributed extremist online content, including materials indicative of their support for ISIS.
Bradley pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 and Muthana pleaded guilty earlier Monday, each to one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Both each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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