In this photo taken November 16, 2015, passengers ride a Washington Metro subway train at the Chinatown Metro Station in Washington.
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Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority CEO Paul Wiedefeld sent a note to colleagues this morning, notifying them of the case.
Authorities allege in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday that Young attempted to send money to ISIS through a mobile-based gift card using an unnamed messaging service the terror group utilizes for recruiting purposes.
A veteran Washington, D.C., police officer has been arrested and charged with providing material support to ISIS.
He made a brief court appearance Wednesday afternoon, wearing a T-shirt and what appeared to be his uniform slacks. A magistrate appointed a public defender to represent Young after he requested a court-appointed attorney.
Young traveled to Libya twice in 2011, according to CBS News, where he worked with rebels trying to oust Muammar Qaddafi. The reports state Young said he couldn’t buy a plane ticket without any “alerts” happening. At one point, he even pointed an AK47 style rifle out the window of his home, scanning for law enforcement.
Dina Ahmad has lived in Young’s neighborhood for 13 years. Ahmad said Young’s vehicle was decorated with several anti-Israel stickers. “Something was off about him”, says Ahmad.
The rise of the Islamic State “seems to have pushed him from just radical to mobilised to action”, he said.
Court filings do not allege that officer Young had plans to launch any terror attacks here in the US, and he did not seem to pose any immediate threat to the D.C. Metro system.
Authorities, who had been surveilling Young for six years, said there was never any credible or specific threat to the Metro system.
“Obviously, the allegations in this case are profoundly disturbing”.
On June 1, 2015, Young was interviewed by law enforcement in relation to a separate domestic violence investigation.
In 2014, Young met approximately 20 times with an Federal Bureau of Investigation informant, who he advised how to travel overseas to join the Islamic State and evade detection. Young is alleged to have given the source advice on how to avoid detection by authorities when traveling overseas to join the Islamic State.
Law enforcement began monitoring Young in 2010 in connection with his acquaintance Zachary Chesser, who had been arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. El Khalifi later pleaded guilty to charges related to his plan to carry out a suicide bomb attack on the US Capitol Building. He also surprised his fellow officers when he showed to an off-duty hours weapons training event with a large number of firearms and ammunition.
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In a message to that person he allegedly praised the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack in France, writing, “Hopefully now people understand there are some lines you don’t cross. this gave the West a taste of what Muslims face every day”. The FBI interviewed Young in relationship to two other men who are now serving federal prison sentences for terrorism-related charges.
