Alexander Ciccolo, Terrorism and Firearms Charges, Massachusetts 2015

Adams Man Charged in Connection with Plot to Engage in Terrorism.

BOSTON – A 23-year-old Adams man has been charged with a plot to engage in terrorism on behalf of ISIL. Alexander Ciccolo, a/k/a Ali Al Amriki, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Springfield on one count of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and one count of assault with a deadly weapon and causing bodily injury to a person assisting an officer of the United States in the performance of official duties.

The charge stems from Ciccolo’s alleged attack of a nurse during a jail intake process after his arrest. According to evidence presented at a previous detention hearing, Ciccolo took delivery of four firearms on July 4, 2015, which he had ordered from a person cooperating with members of the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Ciccolo had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in jail and was prohibited from possessing firearms. The government alleged that Ciccolo is a supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Ciccolo had spoken with a cooperating witness in recorded conversations about his plans to commit acts of terrorism inspired by ISIL, including setting off improvised explosive devices, such as pressure cookers filled with black powder, nails, ball bearings and glass, in places where large numbers of people congregate, like college cafeterias.

Based on these alleged facts and evidence presented at Ciccolo’s detention hearing on July 14, 2015, Magistrate Judge Katherine A. Robertson ordered that Ciccolo be detained until trial.

The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of assault with a dangerous weapon causing bodily injury provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin, and Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The investigation is being conducted by the Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force, and member agencies of the JTTF, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Springfield Police Department, and others.

For more information on this case, contact the U.S. Attorney’s office in Springfield at 1-413-785-6280.

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