NY man sentenced to 15 years for attempting to support Pakistani terror group

A New York man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support to a global terror group based in Pakistan.

"Jesus Encarnacion plotted to travel abroad, to join and train with Lashkar e-Tayyiba, infamous worldwide for the jihadist murder of innocent civilians, and to carry out shootings, bombings, and beheadings on behalf of that terrorist organization,” Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York said.

Encarnacion had communicated with an undercover FBI worker (UC-1), not realizing that the individual was connected with the law enforcement agency, prosecutors said.

"For example, Encarnacion told UC-1 that he was 'ready to kill and die in the name of Allah' and sought UC-1’s assistance to help Encarnacion travel abroad to serve as an 'executioner' for LeT, stating, 'I want to execute. I want to behead. Shoot,'" the U.S. Justice Department said. "Encarnacion further stated that he aspired to commit terrorist attacks ('a bombing and shooting') in the United States, but lacked 'guidance' and 'guns' to do so."

"Encarnacion told UC-1 that he had made arrangements to travel to a particular city in Europe (the 'European City'), as the first step in traveling to Pakistan to join LeT," the DOJ added.. He was arrested in February 2019 after he tried to board a plane bound for that city, and pleaded guilty in January.