Who wanted to help the Islamic State? A gamer, a cop, a cabdriver, prosecutors say

Washington Post ^ | 03 September 2016 | Rachel Weiner

[Lorianne]

First he was a cross-wearing Christian. Then he billed himself as an Italian from New Jersey with slicked-back hair and a fondness for “The Godfather.” After that, he tried to pass himself off as a Mexican who drank Corona and cooked carne asada.

But it was Joseph Farrokh’s last transformation — into a radical Muslim with plans to join the Islamic State — that has landed him in prison for the next 8 1/2 years. He was among seven young men from Northern Virginia prosecuted on similar charges this year alone, raising concerns about both a potential rise in radicalization and a policing approach that relies heavily on undercover agents or informants posing as radicals.

Another, Mahmoud Elhassan, a student and licensed cabdriver, is accused of pushing Farrokh toward terror. Haris Qamar was a gamer with aspirations in banking when he was accused of helping to make a propaganda video urging attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Mohamed Jalloh had been a Virginia National Guardsman before he allegedly bought a gun in preparation for a Fort Hood-style massacre. Others charged were a police officer, a man who studied justice administration and a pot-smoking drifter.

Together, their cases are a stark example of the challenges law enforcement officials face in uncovering those sympathetic to a terrorist group skilled at reaching out online to attract supporters — some of whom may seem unlikely converts — then sorting out which of those people are actually a danger.

[Ken H]

They’re all mentally ill.

What other motive could there possibly be?

[hal ogen]

Cue Capt Obvious...

[cherry]

I would bet that each of these men are loners and nuts and have low T and low sperm counts and probably tiny little peters and they hate women...

such big men with a gun in their hands...

[arthurus]

Those who convert to Islam outside of prison and without knives at their necks are, indeed, mentally ill and are attracted to a culture and “religion” that enshrines mental illness.