A man who immigrated to Oregon from Iraq in 2014 on Tuesday pleaded guilty to advocating for violent jihad through an online Arabic newspaper in support of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Hawazen Sameer Mothafar, 33, who lives in Troutdale, was arrested in November 2020 on a five-count federal indictment.
On Tuesday, Mothafar appeared in U.S. District Court in Portland and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization.
Mothafar, who uses a wheelchair, was seated beside his lawyer and wore headphones to listen to an Arabic interpretation of the proceeding.
Through the interpreter, he told U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez, “I plead guilty,” to the single charge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight described Mothafar as the co-founder of the Sunni Shield Foundation, a pro-Islamic State online media organization that produced propaganda through social media videos and graphics and encouraged attacks on behalf of the group.
Mothafar created the foundation’s first online video that included footage from an Islamic State battle, and in subsequent videos, he encouraged viewers to travel to Iraq and Syria to fight for the militants, according to Knight.
Mothafar and other members of the Sunni Shield Foundation obtained the Islamic State group’s permission to start publishing the online newspaper.
He edited, produced and distributed propaganda and recruiting material and also served as a graphic designer from February 2015 through Nov. 5, 2020, in coordination with Islamic State media operatives overseas, according to prosecutors.
In one graphic he designed, he attempted to incite readers “to attack and kill Westerners,” and in another, he encouraged readers to engage in “knife attacks against the enemies of ISIS,” Knight said, using the initials commonly used to refer to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Among the articles prosecutors say he produced and distributed was one titled “Effective Stabbing Techniques” in a Nov. 29, 2017, issue of Al-Anfal newspaper, which described how to “best kill and maim in a knife attack,” according to the indictment.
Another tutorial he published in Al-Anfal on Dec. 20, 2017, was called “How Does a Detonator Work” and explained the use of explosive ignition devices, according to the indictment.
That same issue contained an infographic depicting the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty on fire with a caption that read, partially in Arabic and in English, “Soon in the Heart of Your Lands,” the indictment said.
Other propaganda encouraged readers to carry out attacks in their home countries if they couldn’t travel overseas where Islamic State extremists were fighting, the indictment said.
On Nov. 2, 2018, Mothafar is alleged to have shared 70 images of explosives and western cities with Sunni Shield members, telling them, “The images of destroyed infidel cities will be useful,” the indictment said.
He also provided technical support to Islamic State officials overseas, including help with opening social media and email accounts for official use and moderating private chat rooms and channels dedicated to supporting extremists through the Sunni Shield Foundation.
He communicated online with what Knight termed, “ISIS central media officials,” who regularly gave him “instructions about media production,” and fed him quotes from its leaders. He also assisted with production of the pro-Islamic State’s Youth of the Caliphate magazine and published news on Nashr News Agency channels, according to the prosecutor.
He also connected a terrorist imprisoned in West Africa, Abu Qaswara al-Shanqiti, to two Islamic State officials “in hopes of aiding his release,” according to Knight.
Mothafar is not a U.S. citizen but falsely claimed he had no ties to foreign terrorist groups when he sought to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in October 2018, Knight said.
Mothafar is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Mark Ahlemeyer, who made no statement during the hearing and declined comment after it.
The conviction carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the amount of any proceeds resulting from the crime if it exceeded $250,000, the judge said.
Mothafar remains out of custody. He’ll be sentenced on Jan. 11.
