A Bronx man didn’t need Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons to get pumped up for his workouts — he used Islamic State decapitation videos to keep himself “motivated,” federal authorities said.
ISIS-wannabe Sajmir Alimehmeti, 22, was roused from bed by FBI agents early Tuesday. They confiscated his passport, which was wrapped in $2,400 cash. Photos of the ISIS flag were all around his apartment.
After twice getting turned away by British authorities when he tried to travel through England to the Middle East in 2014, Alimehmeti worked to help two other men travel to join ISIS, the criminal complaint says. But those men were undercover FBI agents.
He told one of the agents he had already saved $2,500 to go join ISIS overseas, but needed to get a new passport under a different name because he was already “in the system.”
“I’m ready to f–king go with you man,” he said. “You know I would…I’m done with this place.”
While at his apartment with one of the agents, Alimehmeti played two ISIS-produced videos — including one that showed the barbaric militants beheading prisoners — and said they inspired him keep up his pace while he worked up a sweat.
Alimehmeti was charged in Manhattan federal court with providing material support to ISIS and passport fraud.
Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein denied bail, saying Alimehmeti posed a flight risk, had no family in the country and was a danger to the community given his four prior arrests including assault, forcible touching and public lewdness.
He faces up to 20 years prison for supporting a terrorist group and 10 years for passport fraud.
The feds say Alimehmeti, who recently enrolled in a funeral services school, has spent the past two years trying to get to Raqqa, which he called the “heart” of ISIS’ operation, in hopes of joining the terror group, according to a criminal complaint.
Alimehmeti was first questioned on Oct. 24, 2014, when security officials at the Manchester Airport found nunchucks and camouflage clothing in his travel bag. Just two months later, British authorities barred him from another planned trip to the Middle East after they found photos of ISIS flags and explosive devices on his cellphone and laptop.
They also found two photos that showed Alimehmeti pointing his index finger to the sky, “a sign used to reflect support” for ISIS, according to the complaint.
A year after he was denied entry to Syria, he applied for a new passport claiming he lost his, but authorities say he lied about losing the document because his current passport had two rejection stamps from the UK.
At the time, Alimehmeti mentioned that he had a “plan” with his brother to travel to Syria. But that scheme was foiled when his brother was arrested on weapons and assault charges in Albania last August.
Neighbors said they noticed a radical transformation in Alimehmeti, who ditched his trendy clothing and fun nights with friends for traditional Islamic clothing and evenings at the Mosque.
“He was a Bronx kid into hip hop and then it changed,” said Edward Ayala, 53, who lives in the apartment below Alimehmeti.
Felicia Principe, 79, was shocked when she saw the swarm of FBI agents in the building Tuesday morning taking Alimehmeti out in handcuffs.
“I can’t believe it’s that young man that they arrested,” she said. “I would never imagine he would be involved in terrorist. I just remember that one time at the supermarket he helped carry my shopping cart all the way back home.”
Investigators also found that Alimehmeti had been building up a small arsenal of weapons over the last year from an online store including a stash of knifes, a reversible face mask, a set of Smith and Wesson handcuffs and gloves with steel knuckles.
Alimehmeti’s arrest comes after the joint task force, which includes FBI agents and NYPD detectives, rounded up more than six people who were slapped with similar charges in the last year.
Additional reporting by Sophia Rosenbaum