An Egyptian man who was a student at George Mason University has been accused of plotting a terror attack against Israel’s consulate at the U.N. in New York.
Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan worked with a confederate on the plans, providing information on the consulate’s location, debating whether a gun or bomb was the better weapon and crafting an escape plan, the FBI said. But the confederate with whom he was working turned out to be an FBI informant.
Mr. Hassan’s social media posts were littered with praise for Osama bin Laden and recruiting materials from the Islamic State, or ISIS. He also reveled in being labeled an “extremist” who was “obsessed with jihad” and had a “deep-seated hatred” toward Jews, according to court documents.
The young man was already facing deportation proceedings but was free in the U.S. while awaiting his hearings.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he entered the U.S. in July 2022 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, coming on a legal visa. But he broke the terms of the visa, ICE said, and officers lodged the deportation case against him in October 2022, more than two years ago.
The FBI said agents had interviewed Mr. Hassan in 2022, when he was still a juvenile, over some of his online activities that supported ISIS. It’s not clear whether that was what led to his deportation case.
Mr. Hassan was arrested in Virginia on Tuesday. A magistrate judge has ordered him held pending trial.
GMU President Gregory Washington said Mr. Hassan didn’t live on campus, but has now been banned from coming back.
A lawyer for Mr. Hassan didn’t respond to an inquiry.
Court documents say Mr. Hassan maintained at least three online accounts which he used to spread ISIS messages.
He also engaged in debates about Islam’s teachings, arguing that it was more a religion of justice than of peace.
“If your entire family was murdered by someone, would you give them hugs and kisses? Islam is a religion of justice,” he wrote in one March 2024 post on X.
In August 2024 Mr. Hassan shared the results of an artificial intelligence tool’s analysis of his online profile:
“Based on our AI agent’s analysis of your tweets, you are a young, radical Islamist extremist who is obsessed with jihad and violence against perceived enemies. Your tweets suggest a deep-seated hatred and intolerance towards those of other faiths, particularly Jews,” the analysis said.
“Yep I am an extremist,” Mr. Hassan posted.
