A teenage ISIS sympathizer has been arrested for allegedly making bomb threats during a college online class at the University of Houston, Texas. According to the complaint lodged by the University, Ibraheem Ahmed Al Bayati, aged 19, zoom-bombed the class on September 2.
ISIS threat to Houston University
"What does any of this have to do with the fact that UH is about to get bombed in a few days?" the arrested teenager allegedly said during the zoom call.
Interestingly, Al Bayati is not a student at the Houston University, and he appeared in the zoom call in the name of Abu Qital al Jihadi al Mansur. According to reports, a student at the University has shared the zoom meeting link to Al Bayati.
As per a criminal complaint lodged by the university, gasps from students can be heard soon after Al Bayati made his proclamation. While making the bomb threat, Al Bayati also said that the Islamic State will remain. Apart from making the bomb threat, Al Bayati also held up an index finger, which is considered an indicator of radical Islamic ideology.
Is Al Bayati an ISIS recruiter?
Al Bayati was arrested by on Friday. Upon questioning, Al Bayati revealed that his comments were actually part of a joke between him and a pal. However, investigative officers assure that Al Bayati is actually a recruiter of ISIS.
Upon analyzing Al Bayati's telephone records, investigation officers found that the teenager has strong links with the Islamic terrorist organization. Last May, Al Bayati allegedly told his associate that people should be recruited to the Islamic State from a foreign city.
"Al Bayati also explained that he was 'literally known' as an ISIS recruiter. As in most instances of 'Zoom-bombing,' meeting login information was compromised — a student shared the online class link with Al Bayati," said a Fed spokeswoman, New York Post reports.
