Brooklyn Man Accused Of ISIS Recruitment And Propaganda: Feds

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn man accused of spreading ISIS propaganda and recruiting foreign terrorists online was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Mirsad Kandic, pleaded not guilty to charges that he supported ISIS from abroad between 2013 and 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York.

Kandic, 36, was extradited to Brooklyn from Bosnia on Tuesday, the same day Sayfullo Saipov killed eight people in the name of ISIS in what appears to be an unrelated case.

Kandic began expressing his desire to “kill or maim U.S. military forces” when he was a New York City resident in Brooklyn and The Bronx, and eventually fled to join ISIS in Turkey in 2013, prosecutors said.

Kandic’s work with ISIS included recruiting members from across the globe, encouraging them to commit acts of terrorism, and promoting their actions on social media, said prosecutors.

Kandic helped an Australian teenager plan a suicide attack in Iraq in 2015 and said he hoped the teen's victims’ organs would implode, said prosecutors. The only person to die in the Ramadi attack was the teenagedattacker, Jake Bilardi.

And after Paris suicide bombings claimed 130 lives on Nov. 13, 2015, Kandic allegedly tweeted, “America in fear.! The NYPD have said they will have more officers on the streets in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris this evening.”

He faces life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.

James Branden, Kandic’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock