Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Wednesday, Sept. 12, that James Bradley, a/k/a “Abdullah,” and Arwa Muthana pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Bradley, 21, of The Bronx and Muthana, 30, of Hoover, Alabama, pled guilty on Sept. 12, both before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, in Manhattan federal court.

 

In the context of the announcement, Williams said, “Husband and wife, James Bradley and Arwa Muthana, admitted today to their support of ISIS, a violent extremist terrorist organization. In planning their support, Bradley and Muthana collected and distributed jihadist propaganda, including videos of Usama Bin Laden, and even chillingly expressed their desire to ‘take out’ American military cadets.”

 

Williams continued, “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.”

 

According to the complaint, charges, and other public documents in the case, as well as statements made during court proceedings, Bradley and Muthana are ISIS supporters who allegedly attempted to travel to the Middle East to join and fight for the terrorist organization. Bradley allegedly expressed violent extremist views since at least 2019, including his desire to allegedly support ISIS by traveling overseas to join the group or committing a terrorist attack in the U.S.

 

In May 2020, he allegedly said to an undercover law enforcement officer (“UC-1”) that he believed that ISIS may be good for Muslims because the organization was establishing a caliphate. He allegedly further expressed his desire to conduct a terrorist attack in the U.S. and allegedly discussed potentially attacking the U.S. military academy in West Point, New York. Bradley allegedly explained that if he could not leave the U.S., he would do “something” in the country instead, allegedly referring to carrying out an attack.

 

According to the prosecution, in June 2020, Bradley reaffirmed his interest to UC-1 in attacking a military base, and that doing so would be his contribution to the cause of jihad. In January 2021, he allegedly mentioned to UC-1 another [potential target] university in New York State where he frequently saw Reserve Officer Training Corps (“ROTC”) cadets training. He allegedly said that he could use his truck in an attack, and that he, along with Muthana, could take all of the ROTC cadets “out.”

 

In late January 2021, Bradley married Muthana in an Islamic marriage ceremony. Beginning before, and continuing after their marriage, the two allegedly discussed, planned, and ultimately attempted to travel to the Middle East together in order to join and fight with ISIS. In or about early March 2021, Bradley traveled from New York to Alabama to visit Muthana, and they both traveled back to New York together allegedly in order to travel from New York to join ISIS in the Middle East.

 

Thereafter, Bradley raised the possibility of UC-1 helping him and his wife to get on a cargo ship to travel to Asia or Africa allegedly for the purpose of ultimately joining and fighting for ISIS. Later, UC-1 put Bradley in contact with a purported associate who could assist him in making arrangements for both himself and his wife to travel to the Middle East via cargo ship. In reality, the purported facilitator was a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity (“UC-2”).

 

Later in March 2021, Bradley met with UC-2 and expressed his desire to travel via cargo ship and to “fight among the rank[s] of the Islamic State.” Later, he allegedly provided UC-2 with $1,000 in cash as travel costs for both himself and his wife to take a cargo ship to Yemen. Bradley told UC-2 that he and Muthana both planned to engage in “fighting” on arrival in the Middle East. Bradley also told UC-2 that he had a dream that he had given “bay’ah,” an Arabic term meaning the oath of allegiance, to Abu Ibrahim al-hashimi al-Qurashi, the former leader of ISIS.

 

On March 25, 2021, UC-2 told Bradley that the cargo ship would be leaving on March 31 from a seaport in Newark, New Jersey. He allegedly praised Allah and confirmed he and Muthana planned to travel on the ship. On March 31, 2021, Bradley and his wife met with UC-2 en route to the seaport. During this meeting, Muthana allegedly confirmed to UC-2 that she was traveling to the Middle East to fight for ISIS.

 

The husband and wife were arrested as they walked on a gangplank to board the cargo ship. After Muthana was arrested, she waived her Miranda rights, and said during an interview that she was allegedly willing to fight and kill Americans if it was for Allah. [The wording used when a person is read the Miranda Warning, is “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney.”]

 

Also on March 31, 2021, in connection with a court-authorized search, the FBI seized from a bedroom previously used by Bradley 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.

 

In the months and years prior to their arrests, the husband and wife also allegedly accessed, posted, and distributed extremist online content, including materials indicative of their support for ISIS. Such material included Bradley’s postings of images of ISIS fighters, Usama Bin Laden, and terrorist attacks, and his distribution to UC-1 of videos of ISIS fighters, a 2020 stabbing attack against a NYPD officer, and extremists shooting a uniformed soldier.

 

Content on Muthana’s cellphone, which was searched pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant, also allegedly included images of an ISIS flag with Arabic writing, firearms, ISIS propaganda, and quotations of the deceased extremist preacher and former al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula member, Anwar al-Awlaki, including, for example, a copy of the cover of a book authored by al-Awlaki, titled “44 Ways to Support Jihad.”

 

Bradley and Muthana each pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as prescribed by Congress. Any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge. Bradley is scheduled to be sentenced by Engelmayer on Feb. 2, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., and Muthana is scheduled to be sentenced also by Engelmayer, on Feb. 3, 2023, at 2 p.m.

 

In the context of the case, Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, State, and local agencies. He also thanked the counterterrorism section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s national security division.

 

The case is being handled by the Office’s national security and international narcotics unit. Assistant U.S. attorneys, Andrew J. DeFilippis, Kaylan E. Lasky, and Jason A. Richman, are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from trial attorney, Jennifer Burke of the counterterrorism section.