New York man sentenced to 18 years in prison for attacking federal agents, supporting ISIS

A New York man who pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS and conspiring to attack federal agents was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday in federal court.

Munther Omar Saleh, 22, was arrested in 2015 after he allegedly attacked an FBI agent who was conducting surveillance on Saleh and another man with a knife. Prior to his arrest, Saleh allegedly helped ISIS recruits travel abroad and conspired to carry out a terrorist attack in the New York City area with a pressure-cooker bomb.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Edward O’Callaghan said Saleh was “inspired by ISIS’s violent and hateful ideology” and his sentence is “but one example of our resolve to bring to justice homegrown violent extremists who plot and attempt attacks on innocent people, including law enforcement agents.”

William Sweeney, Jr., the assistant director in charge of FBI’s New York Field Office, said Saleh attempted to turn the city into “a staging ground for violent attacks.”

“Directed by a known terrorist organization responsible for civilian massacres and other heinous crimes worldwide, he supported and attempted to facilitate the martyrdom of those with similar views,” Sweeney said. “(Tuesday’s) sentencing promises he’ll remain behind bars for a significant period of time, upholding our faith in a justice system that has little compassion for those who wish to harm our way of life.”

In addition to 18 years of initial confinement, Saleh was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said the sentence would incapacitate Saleh for a lengthy period and deter others who consider waging violent jihad in New York City.