Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal, Material Support to Terrorism, Arizona 2024

A 31-year-old Arizona man is facing serious consequences after being convicted of multiple terrorism offenses in connection with his efforts to help a New York college student join and train with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal was found guilty of providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, aiding and abetting the receipt of military-type training from ISIS, and conspiring to receive such training following a three-week jury trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

According to documents publicly filed in this case and evidence presented at trial, El Gammal was an outspoken supporter of ISIS on social media, celebrating the group’s achievements in battle and announcing his support for jihad everywhere.

In August 2014, El Gammal began corresponding with Samy El-Goarany, a 24-year-old New York City resident who was also expressing his support for ISIS on social media. Over the next several months, the two continued to communicate online, with El Gammal eventually providing El-Goarany with a contact in Turkey who would help him travel to ISIS in Syria.

El Gammal later met with El-Goarany in New York City, where he provided him with the contact information for his associate in Turkey. In January 2015, El-Goarany left New York City for Istanbul, Turkey, where he was eventually killed while waging jihad for ISIS.

‘Once again, we have shown that terrorists and terrorist enablers can be brought to justice fairly, openly, and swiftly in the crown jewel of our justice system – civilian courts,’ said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. ‘To grow their brand of hate-filled violence and radicalization, terrorist organizations like ISIS need facilitators and promoters around the world. And the jury found today that Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal was one such terrorist facilitator.’

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

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