A New Jersey man wanted to use a pressure cooker bomb to blow up the “enemies” of ISIS and become a martyr for the terrorist group, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Gregory Lepsky, 20, of Point Pleasant, N.J., will appear in federal court to face allegations that he intended to fight on behalf of ISIS, either by traveling to Syria or by conducting a terrorist attack in the U.S.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has charged Lepsky with one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. (RELATED: Female FBI Translator Went To Syria To Investigate ISIS Terrorist, Married Him Instead)
The Point Pleasant Police Department originally arrested Lepsky in February for an unrelated incident in his family’s home, according to the federal criminal complaint. Police officers subsequently discovered a brand new pressure cooker stored in Lepsky’s closet, along with step-by-step instructions on how to build a pressure cooker bomb that another terrorist group had published online.
Investigators also uncovered several of Lepsky’s social media communications, which described how he intended to fight on behalf of ISIS and, if necessary, drive a “bunch of explosives” to kill the group’s “enemies” in a suicide attack.
He is scheduled to make his initial appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark, N.J., federal court.
The material support charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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