Prosecutors: 21-Year-Old New Jersey Man Admits To Trying To Aid Hamas

NEWARK. N.J. (CBS/AP) — A Somerset County man who authorities said sought to aid the Islamic militant group Hamas and threatened to "shoot everybody" at an unspecified pro-Israel demonstration pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge. Jonathan Xie, 21, of Basking Ridge, now faces up to 10 years in prison when he's sentenced Jan. 27.

As part of a plea deal reached with federal prosecutors in New Jersey, he pleaded guilty to concealing attempts to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Xie sent $100 to a person he believed was affiliated with a faction of Hamas in December 2018, and a few days later, posted on his Instagram account that he was "pretty sure it was illegal but I don't give a damn," prosecutors said.

The U.S. has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization since 1997.

In April 2019, a person wearing a black ski mask later identified as Xie said in an Instagram video that he was against "Zionism" and the "neo-liberal establishment" and, in response to a question, said he would join Hamas "if I could find a way," prosecutors said.

Later in the video, Xie allegedly displayed a handgun and said he was going to go to a pro-Israel march "and I'm going to shoot everybody."

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.