In a significant turn of events yesterday, Brooklyn federal court handed down a substantial 230-month prison sentence to Sinmyah Amera Ceasar, also known by her nom de guerre "Umm Nutella," after she was found guilty of multiple charges, including attempting to provide support to ISIS, a terrorist organization, obstructing justice, and fleeing to avoid sentencing.
The conviction stemmed from a series of indictments spanning from her initial guilty plea on the material support charge in February 2017 to her last charge for attempting to evade court proceedings in October 2022, during this time she managed to recommence her communications with ISIS supporters and made efforts to delete over a thousand electronic messages—actions that ultimately led to the revocation of her bail in 2018, United States Attorney John J. Durham stated, “With today’s sentence, Sinmyah Amera Ceasar, an unrepentant ISIS recruiter, will be incarcerated for a significant period of time to protect Americans here and abroad from her violent extremism,” as noted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Ceasar, once a cooperative informant, maneuvered to undermine law enforcement efforts by conniving with ISIS affiliates and planning to depart the country, under her apparent new guise, she deleted evidence, lied to investigators, and attempted to flee when faced with the prospect of imprisonment, which she did, by removing her monitoring bracelet and embarking on a bus trip from New York to New Mexico where she was eventually apprehended, with the Justice Department's National Security Division head Sue Bai adding, "Today’s re-sentencing marks the end of a righteous journey that began a decade ago," as obtained by U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation unearthed her extensive use of social media between January and November 2016 to disseminate ISIS propaganda and promulgate violent jihad, her plans to join ISIS, and her efforts to help others travel abroad to affiliate with the terrorist group, an FBI official highlighted the gravity of Ceasar's actions, saying “Her actions demonstrate little remorse for radicalizing other United States citizens and promoting ISIS's heinous ideologies. May today's sentencing reflect the FBI JTTF's relentless pursuit of any individual conspiring to participate in terrorist organizations,” while refreshing communications with convicted felons and essentially continuing to fan the flames of the group's violent ideology, she managed to violate Bureau of Prisons rules, even while under detention as she awaited her sentence, according to the same press release.
Support for the prosecutors and investigative teams that brought Ceasar to justice was echoed by NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, who praised their commitment to public safety.
