ISIS Supporter Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison

• Sajmir Alimehmeti sentenced to 22 years in prison
• Held for providing material support to terrorist group
• Alimehmeti was arrested in May 2016

A New York City resident who kept an Islamic State flag and a cache of weapons in his apartment has been sentenced to 22 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to terror charges.

Sajmir Alimehmeti, a 26-year-old Albanian turned U.S. citizen, was called a "ticking time bomb" by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer who sentenced him, calling his conduct terrifying.

Alimehmeti admitted providing material support to the terrorist group in Feb. 2018.

He was arrested in May 2016, after two undercover New York City police officers and an undercover FBI employee posing as Islamic State group recruits, collected evidence against him for eight months.

Alimehmeti started collecting weapons such as combat knives that could be used in a "lone-wolf" style terrorist attack, investigators said.

During his arrest, agents recovered terrorist propaganda, the flag, and images of jihadist fighters, NBC News reported.

Alimehmeti was once a plumbing assistant who had studied funeral services. He traveled overseas to support the Islamic State group's terror campaign by buying military-grade weapons. He tried to travel to the Middle East and join the ISIS twice in 2014, but was stopped on both occasions by the British authorities.

The FBI began investigating Alimehmeti after they were alerted by the U.K. authorities when he unsuccessfully attempted to go to the Middle East for a third time that year in December. Undercover law enforcement agents introduced themselves to Alimehmeti posing as ISIS recruits interested in traveling to Syria, court papers said.

He allegedly expressed his interest to the undercover agents to go overseas with them, saying he was “done with this place.” He also told the agents that the ISIS-produced music videos that depicted prisoners being beheaded helped him stay motivated while exercising.

He also helped another recruit get travel documents, encryption technology, and equipment to fight in Syria along with ISIS, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a release.

Alimehmeti continued to distribute the ISIS propaganda even in prison by working with convicted Chelsea bomber Ahmad Khan Rahimi, Berman added.

Alimehmeti is also sentenced to five years supervised release, in addition to the 22 years in prison, DOJ said.