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A man from New Jersey is facing charges after his arrest in Kenya last month for allegedly attempting to support the Islamist militant group Al-Shabab in Somalia.

The Department of Justice announced that Karrem Nasr, 23, was driven by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel to “wage violent jihad against America and its allies.” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said, “Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the career prosecutors in my Office and our law enforcement partners who led the investigation, Nasr’s plan to train with a terrorist organization and wage violent jihad has been disrupted.”

Nasr, who reportedly moved to Egypt in July before traveling to Kenya, was arrested in Nairobi and extradited to the US. His posts on X, where he pledged a “jihad on home turf” and expressed a desire to become a martyr for Al-Shabab, were instrumental in alerting authorities to his intentions.

Prosecutors detailed that Nasr had made specific travel arrangements from Egypt to Kenya to meet with Al-Shabab militants and subsequently journey to Somalia. “You may have F35s and nuclear weapons, and we may only have IEDs and small arms,” Nasr wrote.

The charge of providing support to a terrorist organization carries a penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment. New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban reacted to the arrest, saying, “The provision of support to such a group – particularly by an American citizen – is a heinous threat to our entire country and way of life.”

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