BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn man was charged with trying to join ISIS and talking about a Nice, France-inspired attack in Time Square using a garbage truck, according to federal court papers.
FBI officials arrested Mohamed Rafik Naji, 37, on Monday after he traveled to Yemen and Turkey in 2015 in an effort to join ISIS, posted pro-jihadi statements on his Facebook page and spoke with a confidential informant about attacking Times Square, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint.
“I was saying if there is a truck, I mean a garbage truck and one drives it there to Times Square and crushed them,” Naji said to the informant on July 19, just days after the Nice attack, the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office.
“They want an operation in Times Square, reconnaissance group already put out a scene, the Islamic State already put up scenes of Times Square, you understand.”
The Brooklyn man also posted the ISIS flag to his Facebook and tried to get to ISIS controlled territory in Yemen in March 2015.
Naji had trouble joining ISIS, though, and was emboldened to act alone when he returned to Brooklyn, federal law enforcement sources said.
"He is a very dangerous guy," the source said. "He really wanted to get into the game, but when he could not, he then came back even more committed to trying to do an attack here."
Naji was charged with attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization.
He was expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon in Brooklyn Federal Court, according to a spokeswoman for the Eastern District of New York.
U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said in a statement federal investigators would continue to "identify and prosecute individuals like Naji who seek to empower our nation’s enemies and endanger our citizens and partners around the world.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said law enforcement did not have any "specific threat" ahead of Thanksgiving Day.
"New York must remain vigilant in the face of hate and intolerance, and continue to advance the core values of democracy that this state and nation were founded upon," the governor said in a statement.
Naji was held without bail by Judge Robert Levy after being arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court Monday evening.
His next court date will be set if he is indicted on the complaint.
Naji's lawyer did not return an immediate request for comment.
