A New Jersey man is accused of planning an attack on New York City by detonating a pressure cooker bomb in support of the Islamic State terror network, a criminal complaint revealed on Friday.
Gregory Lepsky, 20, of Point Pleasant, N.J., is expected to appear in federal court Friday afternoon on a charge of attempting to provide support material to ISIS, according a criminal complaint.
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Lepsky first came on authorities' radar when police arrested him for threatening to kill his family dog in February. The complaint said he told officials he pledged his allegiance to "Allah," was planning to kill his mother and fatally stabbed his dog because it was considered "dirty."
Officers searched his home and found a new pressure cooker that was stashed behind a roll of bubble wrap in the closet of his bedroom, the complaint stated.
Lepsky later told a law enforcement officer that he was planning to build and use a pressure cooker bomb in support of ISIS. Investigators found searches for instructions to build the device on Lepsky's computer.
The 20-year-old then told others on social media that he wanted to fight on behalf of ISIS" and become a "martyr" for the terrorist group if it was necessary.
"My birth religion is basically Islam lmao...But I want to be different I want to be religious and group up and be a martyr," Lepsky wrote in a facebook post in February.
He told a user he would sacrifice himself and drive a "bunch of explosives" to where the "enemies" were -- a way to avoid going to hell.
In January, Lepsky wrote a message to another ISIS supporter saying his "brother" could carry out an attack in the United Kingdom if he couldn't travel to Syria to fight for ISIS, the complaint said.
Lepsky could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 charge if convicted.
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