Commack Man Charged With Trying To Join ISIS Denied Bail: Report

A Commack man who was arrested for allegedly attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front, was recently denied bail for the second time, according to a report in Newsday.

Elvis Redzepagic, 26, was arrested at his home in Commack in March after federal authorities claimed he traveled to the Middle East twice over the last two years in order to allegedly join terrorist organizations, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

In 2015, he communicated with a member of a terrorist organization he believed to be the commander of a battalion in Syria before traveling to Turkey in order to made multiple attempts to cross the border into Syria to join the associate but was unable to, the U.S. attorney's office said.

The following year, authorities allege he traveled to Jordan but was stopped and deported by authorities there.

In addition, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, Redzepagic wrote about Jihad in Facebook messages, saying "jihad" is "when you fight for the sake of God" and "die for the sake of Allah." He allegedly admitted in interviews with law enforcement that when he tried to enter Syria from Turkey he was "prepared to strap a bomb to himself."

At his arraignment he plead not guilty to two counts of attempting to provide material support to one or more foreign terrorist groups.

Last week, U.S. Magistrate A. Kathleen Tomlinson ordered he be held without bail despite his parents offering to put their house up as collateral for an estimated $580,000, Newsday reports.

Redzepagic's attorney, LaKeytria Felder, claimed in court that he had "lost his way a after yearslong struggle with drug addiction and mental illness," according to the report.

“Mr. Redzepagic is not a violent person,” she said.