The FBI arrested three U.S. citizens Friday on federal terrorism charges, dismantling what prosecutors describe as a domestic ISIS support network that had been active for more than a year and was funneling money toward weapons intended to kill American service members overseas.
The arrests were carried out on June 5 in Kansas City, Kansas; San Diego; and Sacramento, California. The defendants are Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas; Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California; and Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California. All three were charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorism after collectively providing over $2,000 to an individual they understood to be a member of ISIS.
One detail distinguishes this case from a typical domestic extremism arrest: Dzayee is a former U.S. Navy sailor. Neighbors and a former classmate confirmed to NBC 7 that Dzayee had served in the military, and photos showed him in a Navy sailor’s uniform. The Pentagon has not confirmed his military status.
According to the complaint, filed in the District of Kansas, the three men began communicating no later than February 2025 and continued through approximately June 2026, discussing multiple plans to support ISIS through the provision of personnel, services, and money. They communicated through Discord chats, voice calls, and other messaging platforms, and pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader.
The alleged statements attributed to each defendant in court documents are graphic. Ghafoor exclaimed it would be “sick” if his name could be written on a drone used in an attack against Americans, stated he had always wanted to kill a female soldier by beheading, and wrote, “I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans.” Dzayee allegedly suggested that U.S. Special Forces personnel should be among the targets of drone attacks. Shamsaldeen expressed a desire to stab and injure a U.S. service member.
The alleged support extended beyond online rhetoric. Ghafoor’s name was written on the projectile of a rocket-propelled grenade purportedly intended for use in an overseas attack to kill U.S. service members. Shamsaldeen provided financial resources for purchasing drones to be used against American troops deployed abroad. Prosecutors also allege the men discussed a cryptocurrency scheme to fund weapons purchases and that all three expressed a desire to travel abroad to fight for ISIS.
Court documents indicate that federal law enforcement received a tip in March 2025 about social media posts from a user who had pledged allegiance to ISIS, who was later identified as Ghafoor. A second tip led investigators to Shamsaldeen, and Dzayee was identified in January 2026. Beginning in May 2025, a confidential human source began communicating with the group, portraying themselves as an active ISIS member.
The arrests were coordinated by Joint Terrorism Task Force teams in Kansas City, San Diego, and Sacramento, with assistance from field offices in Richmond and Newark.
“This administration has put terrorists, cartels, and gangs on notice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “Today’s arrest of three individuals who allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIS makes clear our commitment to taking down terrorist networks, anywhere.”
FBI Director Kash Patel credited the bureau’s counterterrorism units with shutting down the alleged plot before it could reach American service members. “These subjects allegedly swore allegiance to ISIS, plotted multiple attacks, and even targeted U.S. service members — but this FBI stopped them cold,” Patel said.
