Westland man who built basement bomb to help ISIS, sentenced to prison

FOX 2 - A Westland man convicted of building a bomb in his basement for ISIS, has been sentenced to federal prison.

The backstory:

Aws Mohammed Naser was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on May 7th after being convicted by a jury last June, according to the Eastern District of Michigan US Attorney's Office.

He was convicted on two charges of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and for being a felon in possession of a destructive device.

"This self-professed ‘soldier of the Caliphate’ and ‘son of the Islamic State’ has now faced American justice," said US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon. "We welcomed this traitor into our Nation with open arms. And he repaid us by building a bomb and helping our great enemy."

During the trial, evidence showed Naser knew ISIS was a terror organization and still 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.

Naser, 38, became radicalized in his early 20s and frequently posted extreme Salafi-Jihadist ideological content on his YouTube channel. He developed a close relationship with Russell Dennison, an aspiring Salafi-Jihadist preacher, and the two jointly traveled to Iraq in early 2012.

"Those who support terrorism or violent extremism against the United States should expect a lengthy prison sentence. Today’s outcome sends that message without question," said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "Threats against our homeland and endangering American lives are what the FBI works day in and day out to prevent."

Timeline:

In August 2012, Naser returned to Michigan while Dennison traveled to Syria and joined the foreign terrorist organization Al-Nusrah Front, an Islamic State of Iraq-affiliate group that was a precursor to ISIS.

Dennison is believed to have been killed in 2019 while fighting on behalf of ISIS in Syria. Once back in the United States, Naser started preparing to join Dennison.

Authorities say Naser consumed large amounts of terrorist propaganda materials, researched weapons, and watched gruesome videos depicting acts of violence such as beheadings.

Naser and Dennison continued to communicate and discussed available travel routes through Lebanon and Turkey and the terror group’s urgent need for money to acquire firearms. Naser twice attempted to leave the United States for Syria to join the terror group.

In November 2012, Naser booked a flight departing the United States and arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with luggage that contained a rifle scope, cane sword, and a four-inch tactical knife. Naser’s attempt to join was thwarted when he was not allowed to board the plane.

Investigators say Naser purchased another one-way plane ticket, from Chicago O’Hare Airport bound for Beirut, Lebanon, in January 2013. Hours before his scheduled flight to Lebanon, Naser robbed a gas station. After the robbery, Naser took a bus to Chicago and attempted to board his flight to Lebanon with $2,000 in cash but was again denied boarding and returned to Michigan.

Naser was later charged and convicted of armed robbery and served a three-year prison sentence.

Dig deeper:

He was released from prison and placed on parole supervision in 2016. Unable to travel to join ISIS, Naser renewed his oath to ISIS and focused his attention on how to support ISIS in the United States.

Naser created social media accounts and joined invitation-only ISIS supporters’ chatrooms, groups, and private rooms where he obtained and viewed official ISIS media reports, publications, and other jihadi propaganda.

Investigators say Naser considered himself a "Son of the Islamic State," and a "Solider of the Caliphate." He solicited and obtained information on explosives from other ISIS supporters, received training from a bomb-maker, experimented with manufacturing explosives, and operated drones.

He also downloaded a video that provided step-by-step instructions on the manufacture of an improvised explosive device (IED) using triacetone triperoxide (TATP), known as "The Mother of Satan."

In October 2017, the FBI searched Naser’s home and vehicle. In Naser’s basement, the FBI found a bomb-making lab and multiple drones, tools, and drone parts. In the lab, they recovered a ready-to-assemble destructive device which included precursor chemicals and components needed to make a TATP-based IED.