Tajikistan National Arrested in Brooklyn for Allegedly Aiding ISIS, Possessing Firearms

If convicted of all charges, Mansuri Manuchekhri could face up to 45 years in prison.

A mural bears the logo of the ISIS terrorist group in the village of Albu Sayf, Iraq, on March 1, 2017. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images

A 33-year-old man from Tajikistan, identified by authorities as Mansuri Manuchekhri, was arrested on Feb. 26 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn for allegedly conspiring to support the ISIS terrorist group and ISIS-Khorasan, a regional branch of ISIS. He made his initial appearance in federal court on Feb. 26.

According to the criminal complaint, Manuchekhri is alleged to have helped transfer funds to ISIS affiliates in Turkey and Syria.

Authorities also allege that he possessed firearms while living illegally in the United States and committed immigration fraud by entering into a sham marriage.

Investigators said Manuchekhri’s nonimmigrant travel visa expired in 2016, making him ineligible to possess firearms under U.S. law. Prosecutors said he was recorded using rifles at gun ranges in the United States.

“As alleged, the defendant, who was in the United States illegally, not only facilitated tens of thousands of dollars in contributions to ISIS extremists overseas, but trained with assault rifles at shooting ranges in the United States and declared his readiness to ISIS,” said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York.

“Protecting the homeland and prosecuting evildoers who assist terrorist organizations by funding their violent and hateful agenda, here and abroad, will always be a priority of this Office.”

The criminal complaint states that in August 2024, a close family member called the New York State Terrorism Tips Hotline and expressed concern that Manuchekhri might “commit acts of violence.”

The tipster allegedly said Manuchekhri had a history of domestic violence, had been radicalized in recent years, and had expressed support for jihad and other extremist rhetoric, including allegedly saying an Uzbek national who had driven a truck into crowds and killed six people in the New York City borough of Manhattan in 2017 was “in heaven now.”

If convicted of all charges—including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, illegal possession of firearms, and immigration fraud—Manuchekhri could face up to 45 years in prison.

“Under no circumstances will my Department of Justice tolerate terrorism,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We stand ready to find, arrest, and prosecute those who seek to harm American citizens with the full force of the law. I stand with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who work to keep Americans safe and evil off our streets.”

FBI Director Kash Patel echoed Bondi’s sentiments, noting that his agency is also focused on preventing acts of terrorism from groups such as ISIS, which has “a long and violent record of harming” U.S. citizens.