This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
New York • A New York City man rejected twice trying to enter the United Kingdom after his camouflage clothing, nunchakus and Islamic State flag images on his cellphone raised suspicions was arrested Tuesday on charges that he tried to assist the terrorism group.
Sajmir Alimehmeti, 22, of the Bronx, was awaiting an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court. A criminal complaint signed by an FBI agent described Alimehmeti as repeatedly demonstrating support for the Islamic State since 2014.
It was not immediately known who would represent him at an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court.
According to court papers, Alimehmeti tried this month to provide advice and assistance to a person he thought was traveling from New York to Syria to train and fight with the Islamic State.
The FBI complaint described how employees of the agency and the New York City Police Department gave Alimehmeti numerous opportunities to demonstrate his enthusiasm for the Islamic State after authorities in the United Kingdom ordered him twice returned to the United States in the fall of 2014.
The court papers said he was wearing camouflage pants and shirts and carrying nunchakus in his luggage when he arrived at Manchester Airport in October 2014, and he was denied entry at Heathrow Airport two months later when authorities spotted images of Islamic State flags and bombing attacks on his cellphone and laptop computer.
Alerted by UK authorities, the FBI went to work, introducing Alimehmeti to undercover law enforcement agents who posed as Islamic State recruits interested in traveling to Syria, according to court papers.
The FBI said Alimehmeti helped the undercover law enforcement operatives buy equipment necessary in land controlled by the Islamic State. It also said Alimehmeti repeatedly expressed his desire to help the terrorist group, even claiming that music videos including one depicting its fighters decapitating prisoners kept him motivated while he exercised.
According to the court papers, Alimehmeti was told that one of his undercover law enforcement contacts was going to join the Islamic State and Alimehmeti "expressed his excitement at this and inquired whether he could travel," as well.
The FBI said Alimehmeti told the law enforcement operatives that he had saved $2,500 for his own travel but needed to get a passport in a different name because his name was "already in the system."
The court papers said Alimehmeti told the undercover contacts he and his brother "had our own plan" to travel from Albania to Syria but that his brother had been arrested in Albania.
In a footnote, the FBI said in court papers that Alimehmeti's brother was arrested on weapons and assault charges in Albania last August.