Dual U.S./Jordan Citizen Aimed To Form ‘Small Army’ For ISIS

A dual citizen of the United States and Jordan has been arrested for allegedly conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Nader Saadeh, a former resident of Rutherford, New Jersey, has been charged following an FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) investigation into a group of individuals living in New York and New Jersey allegedly conspiring to assist ISIS.

Saadeh was arrested Monday morning.

According to the indictment, between 2012 and 2013 Saadeh, in “electronic messages,” expressed his hatred for the U.S. and aspirations to form a “small army.” By July 1, 2014 he was posting images of the ISIS flag on his Facebook page.

The indictment describes how Saadeh became ever more radicalized from 2014 through 2015. His Islamic radicalization was reflected in his dress, behavior and statements in support of violent extremists and ISIS in particular.

As laid out in the indictment, an informant told investigators that Saadeh said that ISIS’s execution of a captured Jordanian Air Force pilot by burning him alive and the murders of the Charlie Hebdo staff in Paris were “justified.” Investigators further found computer files on ISIS propaganda videos as well as research on flights to Turkey, which borders Syria.

On May 5, accordion to investigators, Saadeh boarded a flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to Amman, Jordan. Saadeh was subsequently apprehended in Jordan.

His co-conspirators include his brother Alaa Saadeh who was arrested on June 29, Samuel Rahamin Topaz who was arrested on June 17, and an unnamed conspirator named CC-1.

The indictment notes that the Saadeh brothers’ parents were deported from the U.S. “after sustaining criminal convictions. As of the date of the 2015 interview, Saadeh and Alaa’s father lived in Oman, and their mother lived in Jordan.”