[LI] Brentwood man Marcos Alonso Zea pleads not guilty to terror charges (AQAP)

Newsday ^ | 10/18/2013 | ROBERT E. KESSLER AND BART JONES

[markomalley]

A Brentwood man was arrested Friday by FBI agents for attempting to join a branch of al-Qaida in Yemen, as well as for conspiring with a previously arrested Babylon man to wage "violent jihad," officials said.

Marcos Alonso Zea, 25, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Central Islip to a five-count indictment accusing him of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. The other three counts, to which Zea also pleaded not guilty, involved obstruction of justice and attempted obstruction of justice in an effort to conceal his terrorist activities, federal prosecutors said.

U.S. Magistrate Arlene Lindsay ordered Zea held without bail as a risk of flight and a danger to the community. Zea's attorney, Sally Butler, of Bayside, Queens, declined to comment after the hearing.

Federal prosecutors tied Zea's actions to that of Justin Kaliebe, 18, who lived in both Babylon and Bay Shore and pleaded guilty in June to similar charges. Kaliebe is awaiting sentencing.

"Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his country and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder," Eastern District U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. "When that plan was thwarted, Zea continued to support terrorism by assisting his co-conspirator's [Kaliebe's] effort to travel to Yemen to fight violent jihad."

The Zea and Kaliebe plot began in 2011, when they agreed to join the Yemeni terrorist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, according to a court document filed by federal terrorism prosecutors John Durham, Seth DuCharme and Michael Canty.