ISIS in America

By KAREN YOURISH and JOSH WILLIAMS

ISIS in America

82

people have been accused by American officials of trying to help the Islamic State. How serious is the threat?

According to charges filed by the F.B.I.

32

expressed interest in carrying out an attack on American soil.

28

took steps to carry out an attack.

17

were being watched by the F.B.I. as they made plans for an attack.

5

were in communication with a member of the Islamic State.

4

believed they were in contact with the Islamic State, but were actually talking to an undercover F.B.I. agent.

2

carried out an attack in Garland, Tex., in May 2015.

They were shot by police before killing anyone.

2

carried out an attack in San Bernardino, Calif., in December, killing 14.

An additional 22 people were wounded.

None of the people accused of plotting attacks received specific direction from the Islamic State abroad, according to the evidence presented in legal documents and other public information that were analyzed by The New York Times and the Center on National Security at the Fordham University School of Law.

The Islamic State has demonstrated an ability to coordinate attacks in Europe from the Middle East. But the United States has yet to see any of those types of attacks. Instead, attacks in the United States have been “lone wolf” strikes.

“While ISIS remains a brutal and lethal force abroad, its operational reach to the United States has been negligible at best,” the center’s director, Karen J. Greenberg, said. In addition, nearly half of the arrests followed undercover investigations by the F.B.I., and most of the individuals were caught early on.

Although the domestic plots are alarming and increasing in frequency, Ms. Greenberg said that the driving force among those in the United States inspired by the Islamic State had been foreign fighting. A third of those accused were allegedly discussing or plotting an attack in the United States; the rest were allegedly trying to travel abroad to fight for the Islamic State, or trying to help others travel.

According to charges filed by the F.B.I.

56

wanted to travel abroad to fight for the Islamic State or help someone else do so.

37

took steps to travel to Iraq, Syria or Libya.

28

were arrested in the United States on their way to a flight.

5

traveled abroad with the intent to join the Islamic State, but were caught.

3

joined the Islamic State in Syria.

All told, the people charged with plotting attacks or trying to travel to fight for the Islamic State lived in nearly two dozen states. For the most part, they were not clustered together, although there were about a dozen from a Somali enclave in Minneapolis.

Almost all of the accused were American citizens or permanent residents. About 40 percent had converted to Islam. Nearly three-quarters were under 30, and all but 11 were male.

“ISIS, in addition to being a force in the Middle East, is essentially a global gang preying upon alienated youth and providing an identity for self-selecting men and women who are isolated, angry and, at the same time, in search of a mission in life,” Ms. Greenberg said.

Note: The numbers in this story are based on the latest information from federal officials, which includes travelers and attempted travelers whom the federal authorities have charged with crimes related to the Islamic State. The F.B.I. estimates that 250 Americans have traveled or tried to travel to Syria to participate in the conflict.

Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan, accused of being an online Islamic State recruiter, is not included here because he has not been charged with crimes related to the group.

One of the accused was not a resident of the United States.

Sources: Karen J. Greenberg, Seth Weiner, Conor Walsh and Susan Quatrone at the Center on National Security; Justice Department; Program on Extremism at George Washington University’s Center on Cyber and Homeland Security

Additional work by Jeremy White, Kitty Bennett, Larry Buchanan, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Alicia Parlapiano and Sergio Peçanha.