By Anthony Kimery
HSToday
Lionel Nelson Williams, 26, of Suffolk, Virginia was arrested in Suffolk Thursday and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or the Islamic State (IS), after appearing to have become self-radicalized after viewing online jihadist materials and videos, including videos made by former Los Cruces, New Mexico born Anwar Al Awlaki, who became a principal recruiter for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
According to the redacted affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Williams, in October and November 2016 he sent money to a person he believed was collecting money for IS to purchase weapons and ammunition for IS fighters. Williams also posted content on social media indicating his support for IS and attacks targeting police officers, military and armed civilians, the kind of attack IS – and Al Qaeda – have repeatedly called for, as Homeland Security Today has reported.
The law reads that “material support or resources” means any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safe houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who may be or include oneself) and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.
The investigation of Williams revealed he’d ordered an AK-47 assault rifle the day after the terror attack in San Bernardino, California in December 2015. Two firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle consistent with the appearance of an AK-47, were recovered in a post-arrest search of Williams’ residence.
The FBIhttps://inhomelandsecurity.com/category/fbi/ investigation began after “in or around late March, 2016, a member of the public advised the FBI that a former associate, later identified as Williams, had recently been posting [IS] videos and content about the support of [IS] on Williams’s Facebook page. The complainant also stated that Williams had recently acquired an AK-47 assault rifle. The complainant provided partial identifying information for Williams and provided FBI with information about the Facebook account showing the [IS] postings.”
Read the full report at HSToday.
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