Court Case

USA v. Clark, Zachary

November 2019 (Updated May 12, 2021)
Manhattan, NY
Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)

[SDNY] Zachary Clark of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested for attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Clark allegedly disseminated ISIS propaganda and bomb-making instructions in an effort to incite acts of terrorism and violence in New York City and elsewhere. He pledged allegiance to ISIS and posted on encrypted pro-ISIS chatrooms numerous exhortations and instructions on bomb-making and other terrorist acts to be carried out in New York. He pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Case Updates

2021-05-12 | rooklyn Man Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To 20 Years In Prison For Attempting To Provide Material Support To ISIS

Zachary Clar, aka "Umar Kabir," aka "Umar Shishani," aka "Abu Talha," was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham ("ISIS"). Clark pled guilty on August 10, 2020, in Manhattan federal court. Clark pledged allegiance to ISIS twice, first in July 2019, to ISIS's then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and then in October 2019, to ISIS's new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Sashemi al-Qurayshi, whom ISIS promoted after al-Baghdadi's death. Beginning in at least March 2019, He disseminated ISIS propaganda through, among other avenues, encrypted chatrooms intended for members, associates, supporters, and potential recruits of ISIS. He propaganda included, among other things, calls for ISIS supporters to commit lone wolf attacks in New York City. For example, on August 3, 2019, Clark posted instructions about how to conduct such an attack, including directions on how to select an attack target, how to conduct preoperational surveillance, how to conduct operational planning, and how to avoid attracting law enforcement attention when preparing for and conducting the attack. On another occasion, Clark posted a manual entitled "Knife Attacks," which stated, among other things, that discomfort at "the thought of plunging a sharp object into another person's flesh" is "never an excuse for abandoning jihad" and that "[k]nives, though certainly not the only weapon for inflicting harm upon the kuffar [non-believers], are widely available in every land and thus readily accessible." Clark urged the participants in encrypted chatrooms to attack specific targets, posting maps and images of the New York City subway system and encouraging ISIS supporters to attack those locations. His guidance also included posting a manual entitled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom," which was issued by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and included detailed instructions about constructing bombs using readily available materials.

2020-08-10 | Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS

The Department of Justice announced that Zachary Clark, a/k/a "Umar Kabir," a/k/a "Umar Shishani," a/k/a "Abu Talha," pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Clark pledged allegiance to ISIS twice, first in July 2019, to ISIS's then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and then in October 2019, to ISIS's new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Sashemi al-Qurayshi, who ISIS promoted after al-Baghdadi's death. Beginning in at least March 2019, Clark disseminated ISIS propaganda through, among other avenues, encrypted chatrooms intended for members, associates, supporters, and potential recruits of ISIS. Clark's propaganda included, among other things, calls for ISIS supporters to commit lone wolf attacks in New York City.

Case Documents