WASHINGTON —An Illinois Army guardsman and his cousin, both accused of pledging to wage war on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq, were arrested and charged as part of an alleged conspiracy to support the terrorist group, federal prosecutors said.
One of the suspects, Illinois Army National Guard Specialist Hasan Edmonds, 22, was arrested late Wednesday night at Chicago's Midway International Airport where he was allegedly preparing to travel to Syria through Cairo to join the Islamic State group's cause.
The other man, Jonas Edmonds, 29, was arrested Wednesday night at his home in Aurora, Ill., after allegedly telling an undercover FBI agent that he had planned to attack an Illinois military post where Hasan Edmonds had trained with the intention of killing up to 150 people.
Earlier this week, the two suspects and the undercover agent drove to the military post where Edmonds had trained. During the trip, Hasan Edmonds allegedly described the interior of the installation and "which rooms they should avoid during the attack,'' according to court records.
"Hasan Edmonds also entered the installation and retrieved a military training schedule, which he then gave to Jonas Edmonds,'' the records state.
Since late last year, according to the charging documents, the two suspects repeatedly expressed their allegiance to ISIL in communications with at least two undercover agents who first engaged them through social media.
"I am already in the american kafir (infidel) army ... and now I wish only to serve in the army of Allah alongside my true brothers,'' Hasan Edmonds allegedly wrote in a January e-mail to one of the undercover agents. "I pray to just one time step foot in the land ruled by the Law of the Quran but I am content to fight and die here in the cause of Allah whenever the target is set and the order is given.''
In a separate communication later the same month, Hasan Edmonds allegedly told the undercover agent that the "hardest'' part of their planning effort was "staying under the radar.''
In an apparent reference to the risk posed by undercover government agents, he added: "Here, they hide and some even pretend to be friends ... We'd like to cause as much damage and mayhem as possible before being granted shahada (martyrdom).''
Both suspects were scheduled to make initial appearances at 3 p.m. on Thursday in an Illinois federal court.
