Navy Veteran Among Three Arrested for Supporting ISIS

Federal authorities have charged three men, including a veteran of the U.S. Navy, with plotting to aid the Islamic State (ISIS). The Justice Department detailed the suspects’ intentions to carry out violence against American military forces.

The accused are Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, from Leawood, Kansas; Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, from Porterville, California; and Bereen Dzayee, 25, from Lakeside, California. They collectively sent over $2,000 to someone they assumed was part of ISIS, according to charges filed in Kansas.

“This administration has put terrorists, cartels, and gangs on notice,” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche remarked. “The arrest of these individuals underscores our determination to dismantle terrorist networks.”

Dzayee served in the U.S. Navy from 2021 to 2024 aboard the USS John S. McCain.

The FBI arrested the men, claiming they used social media posts to promote ISIS and communicated through various platforms from February 2025 to June 2026 to pledge allegiance to the group and plan attacks on U.S. military members.

Prosecutors noted that the suspects intended their financial support to purchase advanced weapons. Shamsaldeen allegedly donated money for drones to target American troops, while Ghafoor desired his name inscribed onto a rocket-propelled grenade targeted for American forces.

Their conversations revealed troubling intentions. Ghafoor purportedly expressed ambition to kill a female soldier via beheading and fantasized about being connected to a drone used in attacks. Shamsaldeen indicated he wished to stab a service member and stated his mother encouraged him to kill Americans. He further admitted to engaging in violent video games, imagining they mirrored real terrorist acts.

Dzayee suggested targeting elite U.S. military units and advised disguising transactions to ISIS as “donations.” Attempts were made to move funds through a cryptocurrency ATM, although those efforts were unsuccessful.