Ali Saleh Gets 30 Years for ISIS Support, Jail Attack

A Queens man has been locked up for decades after attempting to funnel support to ISIS and then slashing a federal correctional officer behind bars. Ali Saleh, a U.S. citizen from Queens, New York, was sentenced today by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II, to 30 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). The sentence, handed down at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, marks the end of a years-long investigation into Saleh’s radicalization and violent conduct.

Saleh, who pleaded guilty in July 2018, also received an additional 100 months for assaulting a federal correctional officer and possessing contraband at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. That sentence will run consecutively, meaning Saleh will serve more than three decades behind bars before even facing release. He admitted to the jail attack in June 2019, when he used an improvised weapon to slash the officer, an act prosecutors called “vicious and premeditated.”

According to court records, Saleh’s descent into extremism began in 2013, when he swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS. He embraced the terrorist group’s directive to either fight abroad or strike at home. On August 25, 2014, he posted online: “I’m ready to die for the Caliphate, prison is nothing.” Three days later, he booked a flight from New York to Turkey — a known gateway to Syria — but was stopped when his parents confiscated his passport.

Undeterred, Saleh pivoted to helping others join ISIS. In October 2014, he sent a $500 wire transfer to an ISIS supporter in Mali to fund travel to Syria. He also coordinated online with known ISIS sympathizers in the United Kingdom and Australia, attempting to facilitate their support for the terrorist organization. His digital footprint painted a clear picture of intent and action, federal investigators said.

In July 2015, Saleh escalated further by purchasing 48 pyrotechnic mortars — large fireworks labeled “artillery shells” that contained explosive powder. He stored them in a hidden compartment, raising alarms about potential domestic attacks. Authorities intercepted his plans before any attack could materialize, but the cache signaled dangerous intent.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates the strong commitment of this Office and its law enforcement partners to rooting out and prosecuting dangerous jihadists like Saleh,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, along with federal prosecutors and agents, hailed the outcome as a critical win in disrupting homegrown terror plots and protecting law enforcement personnel from retaliatory violence.

RELATED: Ali Saleh Gets 30 Years for ISIS Support, Jail Attack