Two New Jersey teens have been charged in connection with an alleged ISIS-inspired anti-LGBTQ terror plot, which was planned to take place in Michigan.
Milo Sedarat and Thomas Kaan Guzel, both 19 and from Montclair, Essex County, appeared Nov. 5 before a federal judge in Newark for an initial hearing for their alleged role.
The two allegedly were part of a group that discussed plans to shoot up gay bars in Detroit on Halloween and made threats online against the Jewish community.
Sedarat faces charges of transmitting violent antisemitic threats across the internet to individuals both inside and outside New Jersey. Guzel was charged with conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization.
The federal complaint alleges that from Oct. 4, 2024, to Nov. 4 of this year, Sedarat and Guzel, along with the other group members, used encrypted messaging applications to plan travel to Turkey and then to Syria to join the terrorist organization as fighters.
Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said in a video statement that in the group members’ communications, they discussed detailed travel plans, physical training, firearms and other weapons, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and methods to avoid law enforcement.
“Protecting the homeland from radical Islamic terrorism and violent extremism is one of the Justice Department’s highest priorities,” Habba said.
