Suspected American Islamic State member arrested at JFK airport amid fears he may be running guns for terror group or preparing for jihad
- Donald Ray Morgan, 44, arrested by FBI officers on August 2
- He was returning from an eight-month stay in Lebanon where his wife lives
- Fears he had been brokering deals for military-grade weapons and ammo
- Allegedly posted a series of tweets under the alias Abu Omar al Amreeki
- He has allegedly pledged his allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
- Others posts appear to suggest he had been preparing for jihad
A suspected American member of Islamic State has been arrested at JFK airport amid fears he may be trafficking guns to the terrorist group and preparing for jihad.
FBI agents swooped on Donald Ray Morgan, 44, after he arrived in New York on August 2 following an eight-month stay in Lebanon where his wife lives, the New York Daily News reports.
A Brooklyn judge ordered the 44-year-old be held without bail following allegations he had been brokering deals for military-grade weapons and ammunition in his home state.
Swoop: FBI agents arrested Donald Ray Morgan, 44, as he arrived at JFK airport in New York following an eight-month stay in Lebanon where his wife lives
Morgan, from North Carolina, was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has a previous conviction for firing a gun.
Counter-terrorism agents were alerted to a series of worrying twitter posts made by Morgan while in the Middle East under the alias Abu Omar al Amreeki.
Tweeting under the alias alias Abu Omar al Amreeki, Morgan is understood to have pledged his allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
In one post he pledged his allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Others appear to suggest he had been preparing for jihad in Syria, Iraq or possibly the U.S.
At a bail hearing last week Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Nadia Moore suggested Morgan was too dangerous to return to North Carolina on his own.
She told Brooklyn Federal Court: ‘It’s possible that he traffics in guns to people in this organization (ISIS)’, the New York Daily News reports.
Federal defender Peter Kirchheimer argued that there was no evidence to prove that Morgan was either a member of ISIS or had provided the group with material support.
But judge Ramon Reyes said the tweets had implied to him that Morgan is ‘trying to go to Syria or Iraq as the next step and trying to be actively engaged’.
ISIS, which is now known as Islamic State, currently controls a large area of Iraq.
It has gained a reputation for appalling brutality after videos appeared on the internet of fighters performing mass executions and crucifixions.
The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, senior U.S. officials said today.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2721812/Suspected-American-IS-member-caught-JFK-amid-fears-running-guns-terror-group-preparing-Jihad.html#ixzz3A8Xr1osq
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