FBI Arrests Egyptian GMU Freshman for Plotting Massacre at Israeli Consulate

Photo Credit: Alexandria Sheriff’s Office

GMU student Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan.

Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, a freshman at George Mason University in Virginia, has been charged with one count of instructing others on making an explosive with the intent to target internationally protected individuals. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors may file additional charges as the investigation continues. The university has barred the suspect from campus.

The 18-year-old freshman, an Egyptian national, was arrested Tuesday on allegations of plotting a mass casualty attack on Israel’s general consulate in New York City, which he reportedly referred to as “a goldmine of targets.”

The FBI agent who arrested Hassan in Falls Church on Tuesday described how, in mid-November, Hassan sent an Islamic State-themed video calling for the killing of Jews to an undercover informant posing as a terrorist sympathizer. According to the filing, the informant pledged loyalty to Hassan and agreed to carry out a mass-casualty attack under his direction.

Several days of planning followed when Hassan proposed various attack methods, including using assault rifles, a suicide vest, or a backpack containing a homemade acetone-peroxide bomb. He also sent the informant a detailed instructional video bearing the Islamic State logo, as outlined in the charging documents.

“Two options: lay havoc on them with an assault rifle or detonate a TATP vest (TATP, triacetone triperoxide, is a highly explosive compound used in suicide vests – DI) in the midst of them,” Hassan allegedly told the FBI informant in a November 27 message, according to court documents.

The Israeli Consulate in Manhattan. / Google Maps

Hassan chose Israel’s general consulate in New York as the target, according to the FBI affidavit. Hassan micromanaged attack details, including the size of ball bearings to be used as bomb shrapnel and specific flights the informant should take to escape to Borno, Nigeria, after the attack.

U.S. officials stated that Hassan is currently undergoing deportation proceedings. However, the process will likely be delayed until his criminal case is resolved and he serves any sentence if convicted.

FBI documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia describe Hassan as an active social media user who praised Osama bin Laden on one Twitter account while sharing antisemitic and terrorist propaganda on others. The FBI traced these accounts to his phone and home IP address.

A court filing revealed that Hassan, previously interviewed but not charged by the FBI in 2022 for allegedly spreading Islamic State content online, demonstrated knowledge of how to cover his digital tracks across various platforms. He also knew how to access instructional videos on making bombs designed for maximum lethality in crowded areas.