World
US man who targeted Jews and tried to join ISIS is sentenced to 15 years
A man from Maryland who targeted Jews and was charged with supporting ISIS was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a federal court on Wednesday.
Michael Sam Teekaye, Jr., 22, was sentenced for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Teekaye pleaded guilty to the charges in January after sharing his plans with an undercover agent in 2023, according to the Department of Justice.
Teekaye told the agent that he wanted to travel to Africa to join ISIS as a fighter, had engaged with a Somali ISIS terrorist, and had arranged a visa and flight tickets.
He told the agent that his “Plan B” was to attack Jews and Israel supporters in the US.
He said he had researched organizations in his area that supported Israel and was considering how to “gun down key members or anyone involved.”
In a text message exchange with an undercover officer, Teekaye said he wanted to target “any place or higher-up person that supports Israel.”
The agent asked if he meant “Jews or Israeli supporters,” and Teekaye said “both.”
Teekaye bought ammunition and trained at a shooting range in Maryland, and attempted to buy an assault rifle, but was denied because he was on probation.
He posted images of himself at a shooting range on social media, along with a quote from an Islamic hadith about preparing for violence.
In a message to an undercover agent, Teekaye sent a photo of himself wearing a black mask and holding a machete, and wrote, “Victory of [martyrdom]… either you do it here or over there or both.”
The agent asked Teekaye if he was sure he wanted to join ISIS, to which he said, “They are the only group that has the most true and sincere intentions.”
FBI agents arrested Teekaye at the Baltimore airport in October after he checked in for a flight to Istanbul.
After he was arrested, Teekaye told officers, “I’m just gonna get out in 20 years and I’m just gonna do it here.”
“I’ll be like 40 when I get out, then I’ll just do it. I don’t care. It will never stop. Jihad will never stop. I’ll come and I’ll kill your soldiers. I’ll kill you,” he said, while kicking and spitting on the officers.
After he was arrested, the FBI searched his cell phone and found that Teekaye had searched for Jews and Israelis in his area, including a rabbi.
Other searches on the phone said, “How to break into a home” and “How to escape murder.”
Teekaye’s parents are from Sierra Leone and Liberia, and he lived with his parents and sister. He worked at a restaurant and had a history of mental illness, the indictment said.
He had been on the FBI’s radar since at least 2019, when he had posted extremist Islamist ideology on social media as a teenager.
