Federal authorities arrested a New York man on Friday for attempting to join Al Qaeda overseas and conspiring with a former Long Island student to support the terror group, CBS News reported.
Marcos Alonso Zea, also called "Ali Zea," was detained on Friday morning in Brentwood, New York -- about 50 miles east of Manhattan.
According to officials, Zea, 25, tried flying to Yemen in 2012 and 2013 to join forces with a branch of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who admitted to trying to bomb a commercial flight over Detroit on Christmas in 2009.
Reuters reported that the United States sees the Arabian Peninsula branch as the most active wing of the terrorist group.
He was sent back to the United States by British authorities after he tried flying to Yemen from London in 2012. In January, he was arrested for trying to fly from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Yemen.
Federal prosecutors said that Zea tried sending money to Al Qaeda affiliates and destroyed his computer once he learned he was being investigated.
FBI New York Director George Venizelos said when his journey to Yemen failed, he "turned to financing and inspiring another Long Island man's commitment to global terror."
Upon his ordered trip back to the U.S., he allegedly conspired with 18-year-old Justin Kaliebe, of Babylon, who was arrested in February for trying to provide material support to Al Qaeda terrorists.
Kaliebe was recorded saying he wanted to go to Yemen to fight the "Yemeni army" and kill "those who are fighting against the Sharia of Allah ... whether it's the U.S. drones or their puppets."
He also allegedly said he wanted to die fighting for his terrorist cause. In a July 9 recording, officials said he commended Osama bin Laden for bringing "an entire nation to its knees."
Zea's arraignment is scheduled for a federal court in Long Island on Friday. He currently faces five charges -- conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, two counts of trying to provide support to terrorists or terrorist organizations, and two counts of obstruction.
It is unknown if he has legal representation.
