Overview
Munther Omar Saleh is a New York City resident and an alleged ISIS sympathizer and homegrown extremist. Authorities arrested Saleh on June 7, 2015, after he attacked an undercover cop following Saleh and his friend.“College Student In Queens Accused Of Plotting Terror Attack In New York City,” CBS New York, June 18, 2015, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/06/16/queens-college-student-terror-plot-nyc/. Law enforcement officials began investigating Saleh after he allegedly visited the George Washington Bridge two days in a row in March.“College Student In Queens Accused Of Plotting Terror Attack In New York City,” CBS New York, June 18, 2015, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/06/16/queens-college-student-terror-plot-nyc/. Saleh was charged with trying to learn how to build a pressure-cooker bombBenjamin Mueller, “New Jersey Man Is Charged with Planning to Aid ISIS,” New York Times, June 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/nyregion/new-jersey-man-is-charged-with-planning-to-aid-isis.html?_r=0. and plotting to blow up New York City landmarks.Benjamin Mueller, “New Jersey Man Is Charged with Planning to Aid ISIS,” New York Times, June 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/nyregion/new-jersey-man-ischarged-with-planning-to-aid-isis.html?_r=0.
Prosecutors for Saleh’s alleged co-conspirator, Fareed Mumini, assert that Saleh advised Mumini “to use a bomb and to run over law enforcement with a vehicle, seize the weapons of any victims and use the weapons to shoot other victims."John Marzulli, Edgar Sandoval, Caitlin Nolan, and Rich Schapiro, “Feds nab Staten Island man, 21, in ISIS-inspired bomb plot after he tried to attack agents with knife: sources,” NY Daily News, June 17, 2015, http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/dad-defends-queens-college-student-accused-isis-plot-article-1.2260994.
Court documents allege that Saleh espoused ISIS’s ideology online, especially on Twitter. Saleh also allegedly supported the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France and the attempted terror attack in Garland, Texas, on social media.Benjamin Mueller, “New Jersey Man Is Charged with Planning to Aid ISIS,” New York Times, June 18, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/nyregion/new-jersey-man-ischarged-with-planning-to-aid-isis.html?_r=0.
On February 6, 2018, Saleh was sentenced to 18 years of prison for ISIS-directed terrorist attacks in New York City.“Queens Man Sentenced to 18 Years’ Imprisonment for ISIS-Directed Terrorist Attacks in New York City,” United States Department of Justice, February 06, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/queens-man-sentenced-18-years-imprisonment-isis-directed-terrorist-attacks-new-york.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- ISIS
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
- Position(s):
- Homegrown conspirator, propagandist
ISIS is a violent jihadist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group has declared wilayas (provinces) in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North Caucasus. ISIS has also waged attacks in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait.
History
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.