By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
An Akron man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Cleveland to terrorism charges stemming from the release of the names and addresses of members of the military with a message urging people to attack them on behalf of the Islamic State.
Terrence McNeil, 24, faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced at noon Aug. 2 by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster.
“While we aggressively defend First Amendment rights, the individual arrested went far beyond free speech by reposting names and addresses of 100 U.S. service members, all with the intent to have them killed,” Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony of the FBI’s Cleveland Division said in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “We will remain vigilant in our efforts to stop those who wish to support these despicable acts.”
McNeil, 25, was charged with a long list of terrorism-related crimes. Prosecutors say McNeil, a onetime hospital employee, posted a file on his Tumblr page in September 2015 that contained the names and addresses of military personnel. They say he urged supporters of the Islamic State to kill the people he mentioned.
McNeil pleaded guilty Tuesday to five counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and five counts of making threatening interstate communications. Under the terms of a plea agreement, he faces 15 to 20 years in prison.
“The message should be clear that individuals who engage in this behavior will be aggressively prosecuted,” Acting U.S. Attorney David Sierleja said in the news release.
Nathan Ray, McNeil’s Akron attorney, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The file McNeil posted to Tumblr, according to court documents, looped through several dozen photographs, purportedly of U.S. military personnel, along with their name, address and military branch. It included a message that appealed to “Brothers in America” to kill these members of the U.S. military and said he had made it easy by providing their addresses.
“All you need to do is take the final step, so what are you waiting for?” the message said, according to court documents. “Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking they are safe.”
McNeil posted several other lists in late 2015, all that had the same message, urging others to seek out and kill U.S. service men and women.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Christos Georgalis and Michelle Baeppler are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Cleveland.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.