Twenty-five-year-old Emanuel Lutchman was arrested this week and charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, the Justice Department announced on Thursday. He had expressed support for the extremist group to an FBI informant starting in November, and was allegedly planning a New Year’s Eve attack on a bar or club in Rochester, New York; he discussed using a pressure-cooker bomb and knives to kill as many people as possible, and said he’d maybe kidnap a few people, too, according to the criminal complaint. He was allegedly planning the attack to impress his contact abroad and eventually travel to Syria, and he told an FBI informant, “I will take a life, I don’t have a problem with that.” He also told the informant, “I’m ready to lose my family.” The criminal complaint notes that Lutchman has been arrested before and has a history of mental issues.
This is the second time a Rochester resident has been accused of having a link to ISIS. If convicted, Lutchman would face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
