NY man charged with planning New Year’s Eve terror attack

Authorities have arrested an accused ISIS supporter who allegedly planned to commit an armed attack at a bar in Rochester on New Year’s Eve on behalf of the terror group, officials said Thursday.

Emanuel L. Lutchman, who claimed to have received direction from an alleged member of Islamic State, also known as IS, wanted to target a restaurant in Rochester, New York, where he lives, according to a criminal complaint.

On Wednesday, Lutchman allegedly recorded a video of himself in which he swore allegiance to ISIL and the terrorist group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

On Tuesday, the pair allegedly went to a Walmart in Rochester to purchase supplies, including ski masks, zip-ties, a machete and duct tape. However, they urge the public, as always, to be vigilant and “if you see something, say something”.

In recent days, Lutchman told one of the informants that he had communicated with a “brother” in the Islamic State overseas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

On Thursday, a New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration in Rochester was cancelled so that police officers could be redeployed throughout the city, Mayor Lovely Warren said.

The complaint described Lutchman as a “self-professed Muslim convert with a criminal history dating back to approximately 2006…as well as previous state mental hygiene arrests”.

More than a million people are expected in Times Square.

When Lutchman allegedly said he hates it in the United States and was ready to “give everything up” to join ISIS abroad, the overseas individual told him, “For now do wat you can over there”.

“The FBI thwarted Emanuel Lutchman’s intent to kill civilians on New Year’s Eve”, a Justice Department statement quoted FBI Special Agent in Charge Adam S Cohen as saying. This is the second ISIS-related arrest in Rochester in recent months.