Feds add more charges against Massachusetts and Rhode Island men accused in Islamic State plot to behead Pamela Geller

Conor Berry writes for the Associated Press:

BOSTON — Two New England men accused of aiding the Islamic State and plotting to behead anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller are now facing additional charges, according to U.S. Atttorney Carmen Ortiz.

David D. Wright, 26, of Everett, and Nicholas A. Rovinski, 25, of Warwick, Rhode Island, were charged Thursday in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism “transcending national boundaries” and other charges, federal prosecutors said. Arraignment dates have not been set, said Christina Sterling, a spokeswoman for Ortiz.

Wright and Rovinski, both of whom used various aliases, were previously indicted by a grand jury in June 2015 for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. The indictment also charged Wright with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Wright and Rovinski conspired with Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, Wright’s uncle, who was shot and killed after attacking law enforcement officers in the Roslindale section of Boston on June 2, 2015, prosecutors said. On the morning of his death, Rahim told Wright that he could not wait to go after Geller – identified in the indictment as “Intended Victim-1” – and the “boys in blue” in Massachusetts, a slang reference to law enforcement officials, according to authorities.

Beginning around February 2015, Wright began holding discussions with Rahim and Rovinski about ISIL’s call to kill “non-believers” in the U.S., prosecutors said. The trio then began plotting and recruiting members for their “martyrdom” operation, authorities allege.

In March 2015, Wright drafted organizational documents for a “martyrdom operations cell” and conducted Internet searches about weapons, the effectiveness of tranquilizers on people, and the establishment of secret militias in the U.S., the indictment alleges. His Internet searches included “which tranquilizer puts humans to sleep instantly,” “what is the most flammable chemical,” and “how to start a secret militia in (the) US,” according to the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday.

Simultaneously, Rahim communicated with ISIL members overseas, including Junaid Hussain, who was killed in an airstrike in Raqqah, Syria, on Aug. 24, 2015. Beginning around May 2015, the indictment alleges, Hussain communicated directly with Rahim, who in turn communicated Hussain’s instructions to Wright about killing an individual living in New York, later identified as Geller.

Geller is a Long Island, New York, political blogger and activist known for her criticism of Islam and sponsorship of the “Draw the Prophet” cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, which ended with an armed attack by two men on May 3, 2015. Both assailants were shot and killed by police. Two days later, the Islamic State publicly condemned Geller and called for her “slaughter.”

Wright, Rovinski and Rahim each allegedly conspired to commit attacks and kill people inside the U.S. on behalf of ISIL. In preparation for their attack, Rovinski conducted research on weapons that could be used to behead their victims, prosecutors said. Since being arrested, Rovinski has sought to continue planned attacks and has written letters to Wright from prison discussing ways to take down the U.S. government and decapitate non-believers, authorities said.

The charge of “conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries” is punishable by life imprisonment, lifetime supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and obstruction of justice come with maximum 20-year sentences and $250,000 fines, while conspiracy to obstruct justice is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation was led by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force and its counterpart in Rhode Island. More than a dozen other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including State Police and authorities in Boston, Everett and Warwick, assisted with the probe.