Jersey Shore Man Admits Planning To Bomb New York City
A 21-year-old New Jersey resident, George Lepsky, has pleaded guilty to attempting to aid the radical Islamic group ISIS.
George Lepsky pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton, New Jersey, to one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He admitted that he had gone online to find ISIS directives and bomb-making instructions, as well as to buy the pressure cooker and other items for a planned attack.
Lepsky admitted to joining ISIS, and had plane tickets to fly to Turkey and link up with the terrorist group. His cellphone also had the ISIS flag as its background photo.
In February 2017, Lepsky was arrested by the Point Pleasant Police department after a family member told the authorities that he had a weapon and was threatening to harm his family’s dog.
When paramedics arrived, Lepsky also added that he was planning to kill his mother and he pledged allegiance to Allah, the Arabic word for “god” and the term which is used in the Islamic faith to refer to God.
Lepsky added that he stabbed the family dog because dogs are viewed as being “dirty” in the Islamic faith.
When taken to hospital and with police present, Lepsky told an employee with that his name was Allah Abdel and that he was working for ISIS.
When police entered the family’s home, they found the dog alive, but with a stab wound on its back.
Authorities state that Lepsky intended on building a bomb using a pressure cooker, with plans to detonate it in a high-density region of New York City with the goal of killing as many people as possible. A search of Lepsky’s web-browsing history confirmed that he was researching ISIS and other extremist groups in January 2017. Investigators also found books on Jihad and suicide bombings in his room.
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