New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Join al-Shabaab

A New Jersey man, Karrem Nasr, has pleaded guilty to attempting to join the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab and now faces up to 20 years in prison. The 24-year-old was apprehended by Kenyan authorities in December 2023 and later extradited to the United States, where he entered his plea on Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Nasr reportedly became radicalized following the Hamas attack on Israel and, in July 2023, moved to Egypt, where he frequently expressed his intent to wage jihad. By November 2023, he had repeatedly discussed plans to join al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and undergo military training to carry out attacks against the U.S.

In one of his social media posts, he warned of “Jihad on your turf. Coming to a US location near you,” accompanied by airplane, bomb, and fire emojis—seemingly referencing the September 11 attacks.

On December 14, 2023, Nasr booked a flight to Kenya, where he planned to meet al-Shabaab members. However, his plans were already known to the FBI, as a confidential informant had infiltrated his inner circle. Nasr had confided in the informant about his willingness to become a martyr and his efforts to erase digital evidence to avoid detection.

Kenyan authorities arrested Nasr upon his arrival in Nairobi, preventing him from carrying out his plans. He was extradited to the U.S. on December 28, 2023.

His sentencing is scheduled for June 30. U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon acknowledged the cooperation of the FBI’s Nairobi office, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force-Kenya in the case.