3 Men Plead Guilty in Multi-State Plot to Fund and Fight for ISIS

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Montclair NJ, Three men—two from Montclair, New Jersey, and one from Kent, Washington—have officially pleaded guilty in federal court to terrorism-related charges involving conspiracy to support the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

The guilty pleas, announced by U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer, follow a joint investigation by the FBI and multi-agency Joint Terrorism Task Forces that intercepted the defendants at Newark Liberty International Airport and at their residences before they could fly overseas.

Key Details of the Federal Case

• Defendants Involved:

  • Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel (19, Montclair, NJ): Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

  • Saed Ali Mirreh (20, Kent, WA): Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

  • Milo Sedarat (21, Montclair, NJ): Pleaded guilty to concealment of material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

• The Scheme: Planning international travel to Turkey to cross into Syria (“Sham”) and join ISIS as combatants, financed through concealed cash transfers.

• Potential Penalties: Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh face up to 20 years in prison, while Sedarat faces up to 10 years in prison. All three face potential life terms of supervised release.

Timeline of the Plot: From Encrypted Chats to Airport Arrests

Court documents reveal a coordinated timeline showing how encrypted communications, secret cash exchanges, and sudden travel plan shifts led to the federal crackdown:

• July–November 2025: Through encrypted messaging apps, Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh conspired with others to travel to Turkey in November 2025, intending to enter Syria to join ISIS as active fighters.

• October 18, 2025: Milo Sedarat met with Jimenez-Guzel in person to provide $500 in cash to finance Mirreh’s travel. Sedarat specifically instructed Jimenez-Guzel not to bring his cell phone to conceal the exchange.

• October 26–28, 2025: Jimenez-Guzel transferred the $500 to Mirreh. Both men subsequently purchased plane tickets to Istanbul, Turkey, for mid-November.

• October 31, 2025: Federal authorities arrested co-conspirators in Dearborn, Michigan, charged in a separate ISIS-inspired violent attack plot.

• November 3–4, 2025 (Accelerated Travel & Arrests): Spooked by the Michigan arrests, Jimenez-Guzel re-booked his flight for early morning November 5. On November 4, federal agents intercepted and arrested Jimenez-Guzel after he arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport. Mirreh was arrested at his Washington home later that evening.

Official Statements from Law Enforcement

“Any individual supporting ISIS or other terrorist organizations, regardless of whether it involves organizing an attack, planning to travel overseas, or funding others to join ISIS will be investigated swiftly and prosecuted… This Office is committed to disrupting foreign terrorist organizations, preventing ISIS-inspired terrorism, and holding accountable those individuals who support terrorist organizations.”

— U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer

“These men actively plotted and planned to go overseas to fight with ISIS… FBI Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners thwarted their plans and stopped Jimenez-Guzel as he arrived at the airport.”

— Stefanie Roddy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Newark

Follow the Ridgewood blog has a brand-new new X account, we tweet good sh$t
https://x.com/TRBNJNews
https://truthsocial.com/@theridgewoodblog
https://mewe.com/jamesfoytlin.74/posts
#news #follow #media #trending #viral #newsupdate #currentaffairs #BergenCountyNews #NJBreakingNews #NJHeadlines #NJTopStories