Westland man convicted after building bomb in basement, trying to fight for ISIS

WESTLAND, Mich. (FOX 2) - A jury recently found a Westland man guilty of trying to provide assistance to terror group ISIS by attempting to fight for the organization and building an explosive. 

Aws Mohammed Naser, 37, was convicted after a five-week trial.

The backstory:

According to evidence presented during the trial, Naser knew ISIS was a terror organization, yet tried to provide support to the group, even building a bomb in his home. He also tried to travel out of the United States to fight for ISIS, but was stopped. 

Authorities said he became radicalized and frequently posted extreme Islamist ideological content to YouTube and social media sites. He joined invitation-only ISIS supporters’ chatrooms, groups, and private rooms where he obtained and viewed official ISIS media reports, publications, and other jihadi propaganda, according to authorities. 

"The trial proved that this defendant spent years trying to support ISIS – first by attempting to join its ranks overseas, then by turning to explosives and extremist networks on American soil," said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

As part of this, he developed a close relationship with Russell Dennison, an aspiring Islamic Salafi-Jihadist preacher, and the two traveled to Iraq together in early 2012.

He was found guilty of attempting to provide material assistance to a terror group and being a felon in possession of a destructive device because he has a previous robbery conviction. 

"Defendant Aws Mohammed Naser is a bombmaker and self-avowed ‘son of the Islamic State’ — a vicious foreign terrorist organization hell-bent on murdering Americans and destroying our way of life," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan. "Naser tried to travel and fight for ISIS overseas but was turned away. So, Naser turned his fight inward on America, gathered drones, and built a bomb in his basement. But our office is dedicated to finding and applying the full force of the law against any terrorist, like Naser, plotting to harm Americans."

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