CLEVELAND, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A northern Ohio man made his first court appearance Thursday on a terror-related charge for allegedly recruiting radical Islamic sympathizers online to kill U.S. service members, investigators said.
Terrence McNeil, of Akron, was arrested at his home Wednesday by the FBI and was subsequently jailed on a count of solicitation of a crime of violence, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported.
In a criminal complaint, investigators said McNeil is a supporter of the Islamic State terror organization -- and posted names and addresses of individuals he believed to be members of the U.S. military. Along with publicizing the names, the complaint said, McNeil posted a message encouraging fellow radicals to kill them.
"O Brothers in America, know that the jihad against the crusaders is not limited to the lands of the Khilafah, it is a world-wide jihad and their war is not just a war against the Islamic State, it is a war against Islam," the message read. "Know that it is wajib [translated to "necessary"] for you to kill these kuffar! And now we have made it easy for you by giving you addresses, all you need to do is take the final step, so what are you waiting for?
"Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe," it continued.
"While we aggressively defend First Amendment rights, the individual arrested went far beyond free speech by reposting names and addresses of 100 U.S. service members, all with the intent to have them killed," Cleveland FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Anthony said.
The FBI accused McNeil of pledging support online for IS in June and making multiple remarks that could be interpreted as incitement.
"May Allah accept our brother Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez," he wrote on July 16. Abdulazeez was shot dead after killing four U.S. marines and a sailor at a military installation in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Authorities said McNeil went on to make other similar remarks, including, "Just thinking about getting martyred puts a smile on my face" -- and "I can't wait for another 9/11, Boston bombing, or Sandy Hook!!!"
The criminal complaint also says McNeil repeatedly spoke of his desire to travel to the Middle East to fight alongside militants and kill forces of the U.S. government.
"I'm American by birth not choice," he allegedly wrote online. "I'm African American and Native American so this country has made my people suffer years ... I would gladly take part in an attack on this murderous regime and the people."
In April, according to investigators, McNeil acknowledged the possibility of being caught.
"My only options are to stay in the U.S. and endure, trying to go to Iraq or Syria (probably get arrested before I step foot on the plane)," he said, according to the complaint.
"Terrence McNeil solicited the murder of members of our military by disseminating ISIL's violent rhetoric, circulating detailed U.S. military personnel information, and explicitly calling for the killing of American service members in their homes and communities," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Carlin said. "We will use all of our tools to disrupt threats and acts of violence against our military members and their families."
It isn't believed that McNeil is formally part of any terror organization -- a belief supported by several Twitter names the FBI said belonged to him that included the term "LoneWolfe."
"As this nation honors our veterans, we must make clear that we will not tolerate threats of violence against our service members," U.S. Attorney Dettelbach said.
