A Westland man who prosecutors say became radicalized in his 20s, watched videos of beheadings, turned his basement into a bomb-making lab and plotted to support overseas terrorists was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison.
That’s 15 years less than what the feds were pushing for — but double the time the defendant had hoped for.
Aws Mohammed Naser, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jonathan J.C. Grey nearly a year after a jury convicted him of attempting to provide support to ISIS, and of being a felon in possession of a destructive device. The trial lasted five weeks and ended with the jury reaching guilty verdicts after six hours of deliberation.
The prosecution had pushed for a 35-year prison sentence, arguing Naser was a dangerous “self professed soldier of the Caliphate” who consumed large amounts of terrorist propaganda, researched weapons, and watched gruesome videos depicting acts of violence such as beheadings.
Naser’s lawyer, though, asked for a 10-year sentence, maintaining that Naser’s “alleged” crimes happened nearly a decade ago, and that “the person he is today” is not the same as back then. The defense also argued that Naser – a Beirut native who moved to the U.S. as a child – is not the dangerous radical the government painted him out to be, but a troubled young man who longed to fit in – especially after the 9/11 attacks – and vented his frustrations online.
“He moved to the U.S. as a child and got to really be a child. This changed on 9/11, after which he was no longer an American child, but an outsider and a threat,” Naser’s lawyer, James R. Gerometta, wrote in a sentencing memo. “He became a military translator and felt a sense of purpose and belonging, but was sent home with a broken femur. He felt Muslim students at (college) were being mistreated for praying; when he spoke out, he was banned from the campus. He took to YouTube to vent his frustration and became an FBI target. The thing that connects these experiences is not ideology; it’s a young person looking for belonging and significance.”
Moreover, Gerometta stressed, “Mr. Naser never acted on the statements he made online, nor was he intercepted on the verge of carrying out any planned attack. Under these circumstances, a sentence of 10 years is sufficient.”
The judge disagreed. So did prosecutors.
“Those who support terrorism or violent extremism against the United States should expect a lengthy prison sentence. Today’s outcome sends that message without question,” Detroit’s FBI chief Jennifer Runyan said in a statement.
According to the government and evidence presented at trial, here is what landed Naser on the FBI’s radar, and ultimately in federal prison:
Naser became radicalized in his early 20s and frequently posted extreme Salafi-Jihadist ideological content on his YouTube channel. Over time, he developed a close relationship with Russell Dennison, an aspiring Salafi-Jihadist preacher, and the two jointly traveled to Iraq in early 2012.
In August 2012, Naser returned to Michigan while Dennison traveled to Syria and joined the foreign terrorist organization Al-Nusrah Front, an Islamic State of Iraq-affiliate group that was a precursor to ISIS. Dennison is believed to have been killed in 2019 while fighting on behalf of ISIS in Syria.
Meanwhile, once back in the United States, Naser started preparing to join Dennison. He consumed terrorist propaganda, researched weapons, and watched gruesome videos depicting acts of violence such as beheadings.
Naser and Dennison continued to communicate and discussed available travel routes through Lebanon and Turkey. The two also discussed the terror group’s need for money to buy weapons.
According to the government, Naser twice attempted to leave the United States for Syria to join the terror group. The first time was in November 2012. Naser booked a flight out of Detroit Metro Airport, arriving with luggage that contained a rifle scope, cane sword, and a 4-inch tactical knife. He was not allowed to board.
Two months later, Naser purchased another one-way plane ticket, this time departing from Chicago O’Hare Airport bound for Beirut, Lebanon. Hours before his flight took off, Naser robbed a gas station. He then took a bus to Chicago and attempted to board his flight to Lebanon with $2,000 in cash. But again, he was denied boarding and returned to Michigan.
Naser was later charged and convicted of armed robbery and served a three-year prison sentence.
Naser was released from prison and placed on parole supervision in 2016.
During that time, the government says, Naser shifted his focus to how he could support ISIS from here in the U.S. He surreptitiously created social media accounts and joined invitation-only ISIS supporters’ chatrooms, groups, and private rooms where he obtained and viewed official ISIS media reports, publications, and other jihadi propaganda.
Naser also solicited and obtained information on explosives from other ISIS supporters, received training from a bomb-maker, experimented with manufacturing explosives, and operated drones, the government says. He also downloaded a video that provided step-by-step instructions on the manufacture of an improvised explosive device (IED) using triacetone triperoxide (TATP), known as “The Mother of Satan.”
In October 2017 came the raid. The FBI searched Naser’s home and vehicle. In his basement, federal agents found a bomb-making lab and multiple drones, tools, and drone parts. The agents seized a ready-to-assemble destructive device that included precursor chemicals and components needed to make a bomb.
Four years later came the federal grand jury’s indictment, charging Naser with terrorism crimes that he was ultimately convicted of.
U.S. Attorney Jermone Gorgon said following his sentence: “This self-professed ‘soldier of the Caliphate’ and ‘son of the Islamic State’ has now faced American justice.”
Contact Tresa Baldas at tbaldas@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Westland bombmaker gets 20 years in prison for terrorism crimes
Reporting by Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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