JACOBS is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Soliciting or Providing Support for an Act of Terrorism in the First Degree, as a Crime of Terrorism; Money Laundering; and other charges.
The indictment follows a year-and-a-half-long investigation by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Counter-Terrorism Programme, which was created in June 2015 to identify and pursue investigative leads related to home-grown terrorist plots, extremist activities, and the funding of terrorism.
The allegations against JACOBS indicate someone who was connected to known terrorist groups. It is alleged that JACOBS gave "material support" to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, an organisation designated by the US State Department. It is also alleged that she provided more than USD5,000 to the terrorist training group “Malhama Tactical,” which fought with and provided special tactical and military training to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
Allegations include "JACOBS also allegedly laundered USD10,661 on behalf of Mahalma Tactical by receiving cryptocurrency and Western Union and MoneyGram wires from supporters around the globe and sending the funds to Bitcoin wallets controlled by Mahalma Tactical. In addition to sending cryptocurrency, she also purchased Google Play gift cards for the organisation."
Her activities went further than financial support. According to the Manhattan District Attorney's office "In December 2019, JACOBS provided a comprehensive U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook to an online group – which she believed was associated with both Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and al-Qaeda affiliated Jihadist group Hurras al-Din – to facilitate their bomb-making efforts in Syria."
Also, it is alleged, she bought combat knives and throwing stars. She posted in online fora that she was "a brother...behind enemy lines" and, more worryingly, asking for prayers for the "courage, strength, guidance, and wisdom to carry out certain missions."
The District Attorney lists the charges as
Soliciting or Providing Support for an Act of Terrorism in the First Degree as a Crime of Terrorism, a class B violent felony, one count
Soliciting or Providing Support for an Act of Terrorism in the First Degree, a class C violent felony, one count
Soliciting or Providing Support for an Act of Terrorism in the Second Degree, a class D violent felony, one count
Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree as a Crime of Terrorism, a class D violent felony, one count
Money Laundering in Support of Terrorism in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, six counts