Early this morning, the FBI arrested three men in Kansas City, Kansas, San Diego, and Sacramento, California, on charges that they conspired to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas; Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California; and Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California, were arrested on a complaint filed in the District of Kansas for conspiring to provide material support to terrorism after collectively providing over $2,000 to an individual they understood to be a member of ISIS.
As detailed in the complaint, in various messaging exchanges, Ghafoor exclaimed it would be “sick” if his name could be written on the drone used in an attack on Americans.
“This administration has put terrorists, cartels, and gangs on notice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Today’s arrest of three individuals who allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIS makes clear our commitment to taking down terrorist networks — anywhere. Thanks to the vigilance of the FBI, their alleged scheme was dismantled and further acts of violence against U.S. service members were prevented.”
Dzayee suggested that targets of drones should include U.S. Special Forces. In other exchanges, Shamsaldeen expressed a desire to stab and injure a U.S. servicemember. Ghafoor said he has always wanted to kill a female soldier by beheading, and added, “I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans.”
“These subjects allegedly swore allegiance to ISIS, plotted multiple attacks, and even targeted U.S. service members — but this FBI stopped them cold,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The success of this op shows once again this FBI’s continued record of stopping terrorist attacks before they happen, simply the best way to defend the homeland — and shows we’ll stop at nothing to defend Americans from those who seek to do us harm. I want to thank our teams in Kansas City, San Diego, Sacramento, Newark, and Richmond, and the Counterterrorism Division for their outstanding efforts on this investigation and commitment to mission.”
According to the complaint, filed in the District of Kansas, beginning at least in February 2025 and continuing to about June 2026, the individuals communicated about several plans to support ISIS, including through the provision of personnel, services, and money. Through Discord chats, voice calls, and other messaging platforms, the coconspirators pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader. The defendants exchanged messages in social media groups promoting violence in furtherance of ISIS.
“According to the complaint, these defendants conspired to support ISIS, a ruthless terrorist organization, with the intent, among other things, to fund plans to kill American servicemembers abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Thanks to the work of the FBI, their plans to betray their country in the gravest way lies in ruin. Instead, these defendants will face justice in our courts.”
The defendants collectively provided over $2,000 to an individual they believed to be an ISIS member. Ghafoor’s name was written on the projectile of one of the rocket-propelled grenades purportedly to be used in an attack overseas to kill U.S. servicemembers. Shamsaldeen provided financial resources for the purpose of purchasing drones, which, in turn, were to be used to attack and kill U.S. servicemembers deployed overseas.
“For years, the Department of Justice has been encouraging Americans that if they see suspicious activity, they should report it to law enforcement. That’s because long gone are the days where terrorist threats and attacks are incidents that only take place far away on foreign soil,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser for the District of Kansas. “Unfortunately, we must face the reality of bad actors living within our borders clandestinely conspiring on ways to create fear and havoc. The only way to root out and prevent terrorism plots is through collaboration among all levels of law enforcement and across jurisdictions. Collaboration is what facilitated the arrests of these three suspects.”
The defendants and others communicated their desires to travel outside the United States to fight on behalf of ISIS. In some of these communications, they expressed a willingness to die on behalf of ISIS.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Kansas City Field Office, the San Diego Field Office, and the Sacramento Field Office investigated the cases, with assistance from FBI Field Offices in Richmond and Newark.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask and Michelle MacFarlane for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and Jay Rezai of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of California and the Southern District of California.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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