A man accused of an Islamic State-inspired plot to kill bar patrons here is scheduled Thursday to plead guilty to federal crimes.
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Emanuel Lutchman, 26, pleaded guilty in a federal court to conspiring to provide material support for the Islamic State.
On New Year’s Eve, Lutchman allegedly plotted to attack patrons at the Merchants Grill here.
Authorities say Lutchman initiated contact with ISIS members online, including the now deceased Abu Issa Al-Amriki in Syria, who told him to plan an attack on New Year’s Eve to kill non-believers, or “kuffar”.
Emanuel L. Lutchman, 26, planned to kill diners at a local restaurant last New Year’s Eve before he was arrested December 30, authorities have said. USA officials described the plot to kill civilians as a step toward Lutchman’s declared ambition of joining IS in Syria.
Local media in Rochester quoted his grandmother as saying Lutchman converted to Islam while previously imprisoned, and he suffered from mental issues in the past, according to his family.
Also Thursday, a MS woman convicted of trying to help ISIS in a separate case was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the federal government said.
After his arrest, his father and mother earlier described a man who’d had psychiatric troubles since childhood, had recently stabbed himself in a suicide attempt and, they said, wouldn’t have conducted the attack on his own.
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Her fiancé, Muhammad “Mo” Dakhlalla, has also pleaded guilty to the same charge and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. After her prison sentence, she will be under supervised release for 15 years.
