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MONTREAL — The case of a 20-year-old man arrested over an alleged Islamic State terror plot to kill Jews in New York City was before a judge briefly on Friday and will return to court in December in Montreal.
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, a Pakistani national living in Ontario, was arrested Sept. 4 in Ormstown, Que., allegedly on his way across the border into New York state. United States officials charged Khan with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, and they are seeking to have him extradited to stand trial.
Authorities allege that Khan, also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, intended to use “automatic and semi-automatic weapons” in a mass shooting in support of the Islamic State at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
They allege he began planning his attack in November 2023, the same time he allegedly started posting on social media and communicating with others on an encrypted messaging app about his support for ISIS; he also allegedly distributed propaganda and literature about the terror group.
Khan then began communicating with two undercover officers who posed as people willing to help him carry out his alleged attack plan. The accused allegedly implored the two officers to buy weapons for the plot.
During one communication, Khan noted, “if we succeed with our plan this would be the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
U.S. officials said he took three separate vehicles while travelling to the U.S. border.
In announcing his arrest, the RCMP said, “as his actions escalated, at no point in time was Khan an immediate threat prior to his arrest.”
He was not present for a hearing on Friday before the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal, where lawyers said they are waiting for extradition documents and for authorization from Canadian officials before proceeding with the case, which will return before a judge on Dec. 6.
Khan’s lawyer, Gaetan Bourassa, said U.S. authorities have 60 days to file the necessary paperwork and Canadian officials have 30 days to authorize the extradition process.
“He was arrested last week and they have 60 days to produce the evidence the United States has,” Bourassa said outside the courtroom. “On Dec. 6, if we receive the proof, then we’ll fix a date for the hearing.” Khan is expected to appear via video on that date.
Bourassa said he spoke with his client, who is “reacting very well.” He called the evidence in the case “complex,” noting there are witnesses in the United States whose names he doesn’t know.
Earlier this week, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Khan arrived in Canada in June 2023 on a student visa granted to him the previous month.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about what is being done to ensure other ISIS supporters haven’t entered the country under false pretences.
“First of all, this is an extraordinarily serious situation and it highlights just how effective our security services and institutions are that we were able to interdict these, these very, very potentially devastating situations,” Trudeau told reporters in the Montreal area.
“We work with partners around the world … sharing intelligence and there’s many situations in which Canadian intelligence has been important to partners around the world.”
The RCMP said in a release last week that Khan faces three charges in Canada: attempting to leave Canada to commit an offence for a terrorist group; participating in activities of a terrorist group; and conspiracy to commit an offence by violating U.S. immigration law or attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully. He was later rearrested under a provisional warrant involving the extradition request.
Bourassa said Friday he’s unaware of any charges laid against Khan in Canada, and a Justice Department lawyer present in court on Friday referred questions to a spokesperson in Ottawa.
“He was surprised, he was arrested at the border under special circumstances,” Bourassa said.
Khan remains detained at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press