Uzbek National Arrested in New York After Allegedly Leading ISIS-Linked Group

An Uzbekistan national, Davud Ansariy, 41, was arrested and returned to New York City after spending a decade on the run. He is accused of leading a group of individuals who allegedly supported ISIS and discussed plans to assassinate then-President Barack Obama, bomb Coney Island, and attack law enforcement from 2014 to 2016. Ansariy, a naturalized US citizen, fled to Turkey in May 2016 and was apprehended in Georgia on Wednesday. He was brought to JFK Airport in Queens, where he was met by FBI and NYPD agents. Following his first court appearance on Thursday in Brooklyn federal court, he was held without bail and faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted on multiple terror charges. According to court documents, Ansariy raised funds for individuals aspiring to join ISIS and Al-Nusrah Front, using coded language to refer to his group as the “tea party” or “chayxona,” which means “tea house” in Uzbek. He is alleged to have funded the travel of at least three individuals to Syria in 2013, who are believed to have been killed. Ansariy also reportedly raised money for Akhror Saidakhmetov, who was arrested in 2015 after expressing intentions to attack police. Another group member, Abdulrasul Hasanovich Juraboev, allegedly indicated a willingness to plant a bomb at Coney Island and discussed plans to kill the then-president. Ansariy pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to terrorist organizations.