What to Know
- A New Jersey woman who was an ISIS supporter later turned U.S. government informant — only to turn back to being an ISIS supporter
- Sinmyah Amera Cesaer allegedly tried to recruit ISIS followers online and then she betrayed government handlers by trying to delete evidence
- Her sentencing hearing lasted much of Monday with the hearing set to resume Tuesday morning
A New Jersey woman who was an ISIS supporter later turned U.S. government informant — only to turn back to being an ISIS supporter.
That according to federal prosecutors who made public Monday the terror-related case that dates to 2016. Sinmyah Amera Cesaer was in Brooklyn federal court to be sentenced in connection with her attempts to obstruct the material support for terror investigations linked to her.
The FBI said she tried to recruit ISIS followers online and then she betrayed government handlers by trying to delete evidence and leads at the same time she said she was helping the feds.
Cesaer was initially arrested by FBI agents at JFK Airport in November 2016 as she tried to leave the country, according to court documents, and pleaded guilty in 2017. As part of her plea agreement, Cesaer gave detailed accounts of her relationships and correspondents with ISIS supporters.
She was later released in 2018 on bail after claiming the medical care at the Metropolitan Detention Center was inadequate, under the conditions she not use social media or communicate with members of terrorist organizations, according to court documents.
Federal agents later learned Cesaer violated her bond by getting a laptop and cell phone apps that she used to get back in contact with known supporters of ISIS and other terror groups, documents stated, and ordered her back to prison.
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In their investigation into her communications while out on bail, agents found that Cesaer had tried to re-establish a connection with at least one person she previously provided information on to the government, as well as at least three new people she hadn't told feds about before — some of whom are subjects of ongoing terror investigations.
Cesaer was accused of deleting more communications she had with multiple people on Facebook, and created multiple accounts on Facebook under different names in an effort to hide her correspondence, the court documents reveal. She expressed no remorse for her continued support for ISIS.
She pleaded guilty to obstruction counts in March after prosecutors said she did “…intentionally and corruptly alter, destroy, mutilate and conceal one or more records, documents and other objects, to wit: Facebook messages and text messages…”
Her sentencing hearing lasted much of Monday with the hearing set to resume Tuesday morning.