RICHMOND, Va. -- Federal officials arrested three men Wednesday for allegedly attempting to join the terror group ISIS, and CBS 6 has learned two of those men used to live and work in Virginia.
The Feds said the three men fostered plans to kill the President and shoot members of law enforcement.
Two of them, Abror Habibov and Akhror Saidakhmetov, used to live and work in Chesapeake and Hampton, according to reports from CNN and theWall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal reported that it found Habibov’s ex-wife in Hampton who told the paper she “never knew him as a Muslim,” and one day he just “fled” and stopped returning her calls.
The news is hard to comprehend for a Muslim student at the University of Richmond who asked us to conceal his identity because of the sensitive nature of the topic.
“It’s definitely shocking.”
The student said he cannot understand why anyone would want to be a part of that group, especially people living in the United States.
“It’s just so strange to see people from these locations trying to join that organization.”
Professor Stephen Long with the University of Richmond said the three, all originally from former Soviet Union Republics with majority Islamic populations, must have been inspired by the terror group’s internet presence.
“They’re reaching out to very vulnerable, easily persuaded people in developed countries,” Long said.
This isn’t the first time someone with ties to Virginia was arrested for their alleged involvement with the terror group.
A Henrico woman was charged back in November with lying to the feds about her involvement with ISIS.
Still, Long said Virginia is not a hot bed for ISIS recruitment.
“The more serious problems are arising in places like Minneapolis where there is a large Somali ex-patriot community, and New York where there are many of these small communities,” Long said.
