Man accused of helping plan cartoon attack now charged with supporting Islamic State

[Concorde]

Man accused of helping plan cartoon attack now charged with supporting Islamic State

Jacques Billeaud, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Thursday, December 24, 2015 07:18 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, December 24, 2015 07:28 PM EST

This undated law enforcement booking photo from the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff's Department shows Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem. Also known as Decarus Thomas, Kareem was charged with helping plan an attack on a provocative Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas that ended with two men being killed in a shootout with police. Kareem also planned to fight with the Islamic State group, an indictment released Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, says. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)

PHOENIX -- A U.S. man accused of helping plan an attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas also planned to fight with the Islamic State group, an indictment says.

The document released Wednesday charges Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Prosecutors allege he researched travelling to the Middle East to fight alongside the group and inquired about the types of explosives that would be needed to blow up a mall and the stadium in Arizona where the 2015 Super Bowl was held.

Kareem's attorney, Daniel Maynard, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday. Maynard previously said the case was based largely on an unreliable confidential informant.

Kareem is accused of researching the trip with Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, who were killed in a May 3 shootout with police outside the cartoon contest in Texas.

An earlier indictment accused Kareem of providing the guns used in that attack.

The new charge alleges he encouraged Simpson and Soofi to carry out violence in the United States in support of the Islamic State and impose retribution for U.S. military actions in the Middle East.

A section of the indictment describing Simpson and Soofi's trip to the cartoon contest says they were carrying a printed paper version of the Islamic State flag.

Cosme Lopez, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, which is prosecuting Kareem, declined to say whether authorities believe the Texas attack was carried out on behalf of Islamic State.