NJ man charged with Hamas-inspired terror plot against U.S.

🔴 Karrem Nasr moved to Egypt from the U.S. in July

🔴 The Hamas attack on Israel inspired Nasr to train for jihad against the U.S.

🔴 Nasr was headed to Somalia to train for jihad when he was arrested

A Mercer County man inspired by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was arrested after trying to join a terror group to wage jihad against the U.S., federal prosecutors say.

Karrem Nasr, aka Ghareeb Al-Muhajir, 23, was arrested Dec. 14 as he traveled from Egypt to Kenya in an attempt to train with a terror organization called Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based terror group affiliated with al-Qaida, officials said.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York said Nasr, who moved from Lawrenceville to Egypt in July, was inspired by the Hamas attack on Israel.

He began communicating in November with a "confidential source" who posed as a facilitator for the organization. He also warned on social media Jihad" was “coming soon to a US location near you," officials said.

Nasr booked a flight and made reservations in Somalia to train with the group. He told his source he was going to delete data from his cell phone and computer so evidence of his communications could not be connected to him.

"Nasr was prepared to kill and be killed to support the jihadist cause, and in his own words, he described America as ‘evil’ and the ‘head of the snake’," Williams said in a statement. "Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the career prosecutors in my office and our law enforcement partners who led the investigation, Nasr’s plan to train with a terrorist organization and wage violent jihad has been disrupted."

Nasr is charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom