On Thursday, Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, who came to the United States in August 2016 as a refugee from Syria, pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization for seeking to bomb the Legacy International Worship Center in Pittsburgh sometime in 2019.
“The defendant, motivated by ISIS’s call to violence and hate, plotted a terrorist attack targeting a church in Pittsburgh,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark Lesko said in a statement.
According to federal prosecutors, 23-year-old Alowemer was motivated to bomb the Christian church to garner support from other ISIS members within the U.S. Alowemer had hoped that his terrorist attack would rally other ISIS members to commit similar acts of terrorism against American citizens.
Alowemer first entered the U.S. through the New York port of entry on August 1, 2016 as a refugee from Syria, being granted RE3 status, which indicates he was the child of a refugee. Sometime after, Alowemer wanted to adjust his immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident. Alowemer’s green card application was pending at the time of his arrest.