Toledo-area man pleads guilty for plotting synagogue attack

May 18—A Holland man admitted Tuesday in federal court to making plans to kill a rabbi and members of a Toledo-area synagogue as he idealized a mass shooting a Pittsburgh congregation.

Damon Joseph, 23, also known as Abdullah Ali Yusuf, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Toledo to attempting to provide resources to a terrorist organization and attempting commit a hate crime. He admitted to virtually recruiting and supporting ISIS, but also for plotting to kill as many members of the Jewish faith.

A third, related charge will be dismissed at sentencing.

With the plea agreement, the government is recommending Joseph be sentenced to 20 years in prison. He could have faced life in federal prison on the hate-crime offense alone.

From the 15-page plea agreement, Michelle Baeppler, an assistant U.S. attorney, outlined Tuesday the evidence that would have been presented had the case gone to trial.

Joseph's posts on social media caught federal investigators' attention. Out of several photos of knives and guns he had posted, one had been originally distributed by ISIS' media wing.

Around September, 2018, Joseph began communicating with an undercover agent and he expressed his support for ISIS, Ms. Baeppler said.

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Joseph told the agent he "wanted to do his part to support jihad," or the fight against enemies of Islam. He also expressed support for "martyrdom operations" and stated, "What must be done, must be done."

During online conversations with the undercover agent that October, Joseph said he could "see himself doing a coordinated shooting" and fantasized an attack like the one Oct. 27, 2018 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11.

"They wouldn't even expect in my area. I'm fantasizing but I seriously could see myself doing something similar to that," Joseph told the undercover agent, Ms. Baeppler said Tuesday.

Joseph coordinated more specifics of his plan to ensure the "most casualties possible."

"I know in the Qur'an, it says do not attack a place of worship. My opinion is the Jews are evil and they get what's coming to them. I don't feel bad at all, considering what they're doing in Palestine," Joseph wrote to the undercover agent.

While federal prosecutors have not named the targeted synagogue, Joseph identified two in the Toledo area that could potentially be attacked. Ms. Baeppler said Joseph could have targeted both. He researched dates of services and even pulled photos of the places of worship.

Joseph later met with an undercover agent who purported to offer help during the attack. The undercover agent was instructed to obtain firearms, specifically AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, Glock handguns, and ammunition. Joseph intended to store them at his residence, which he shared with his grandmother.

Joseph met with the undercover agent and took a bag containing two rifles. He was then arrested in December, 2018.

After the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case on Tuesday, Judge Zouhary asked Joseph were he gained knowledge of weapons.

"I had no actual experience with firearms. It was more off the internet and stuff like that," Joseph said.

Joseph will be sentenced Sept. 14.

First Published May 18, 2021, 3:17pm