Marcos Alonso Zea, also known as Ali Zea, who had been living on Long Island in Brentwood New York, was arrested and charged with wanting to join Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and wage a holy war, officials said, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. Zea, who had been charged with "conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, attempting to provide material support to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to the Al Qaeda group in Yemen, obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice," pleaded not guilty, longislandnews12.com reported.
"Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his county and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder. When that plan was thwarted, Zea continued to support terrorism by assisting his co-conspirator's efforts to travel to Yemen to fight violent jihad," said Loretta Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a prepared statement.
Al Qaeda in Yemen has been linked to numerous attacks against targets in the Arab country and the United States, including the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, which killed 17 Americans.
The arrest is the second made in the terror investigation that resulted in charges against 18-year-old former Babylon High School student Justin Kalieb, news reports said.
Kaliebe pleaded guilty in February to attempting to provide support to terrorists. He will be sentenced in December, according to Justice Department's statement. He could face up to 30 years in prison, CNN reported.
Zea allegedly "encouraged and supported his co-conspirator, Kaliebe, who also was plotting to travel to Yemen to fight jihad. In August 2012, in a covertly recorded conversation between Zea and Kaliebe, Zea bragged about his lies to UK authorities when he was detained, instructed Kaliebe regarding methods to evade electronic surveillance by law enforcement authorities, and discussed Kaliebe's plans to fight jihad," according to prosecutors.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, which includes the FBI and the NYPD, led the investigation against Zea.
"Aspirants with lethal intent who seek terror training abroad are of paramount concern," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.
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