Maryland Muslim Faces Charges in Connection with Terror Plot

A Bangladeshi man living in Maryland has been charged in a plot to kill a member of the U.S. military.

A court document says that 24-year-old Nelash Mohamed Das of Hyattsville was prepared to launch an attack on a U.S. service member. A confidential informant for the FBI set up the supposed attack.

Das is a Bangladeshi citizen and a legal permanent resident of the United States. He voiced support for ISIS on his social media accounts from late 2015 to early 2016. He specifically supported the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.

Court documents show that he told an FBI informant that he wanted to kill U.S. military personnel. He allegedly told the informant that carrying out an attack is "like a goal in my life."

Das also apparently had taken a class and submitted his fingerprints to obtain a handgun permit.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Das tweeted the service member's name and hometown and said the service member "aspires to kill Muslims."

Jihadist beliefs apparently motivated Das. He also tweeted a picture of an AK-47 assault rifle, writing "this is more than just a gun. This is a ticket to Jannah."

Prosecutors believe that's a reference to the Islamic concept of paradise. They note he also expressed apparent envy of those who kill "kuffar," or non-Muslims.

Das met the informant in May of 2016 and thought he was also a supporter of the Islamic State.

The informant told Das he had information about a potential target, a member of the U.S. military, from an ISIS contact in Iraq. Das allegedly agreed to help with an attack on the person and bought ammunition to prepare. Court documents show that Das thought the informant's contact would pay $80,000 for the attack.

Authorities arrested Das right before the attack was supposed to happen. He had loaded a gun and traveled with the informant to a location where he believed it would take place.

The Associated Press tried to reach the public defender assigned to Das but was unsuccessful. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.