More than eight in 10 people charged with ISIS-related crimes in the United States since 2014 were citizens or lawful permanent residents, a new report found.
280 people have been federally charged with ISIS-related crimes since 2014. Of those, 231, or 82.5%, were U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, according to the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The report comes as the Justice Department announced Tuesday that the FBI arrested Jonathan Hunter Kramer, 21, of Valencia, Pennsylvania, who prosecutors say was preparing for an ISIS-inspired mass-casualty attack, according to the Justice Department.
The findings highlight the extent to which ISIS has been able to inspire supporters already living in the United States, even after the terrorist group lost the large territory that once made up its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
The federal cases have continued every year since 2014 and have been spread across the country, with ISIS-related prosecutions documented in 36 states and Washington, D.C. New York had the most cases with 57, followed by Virginia with 25, Florida with 20, Texas with 19, Minnesota with 16, Michigan and California with 13 each, Illinois and New Jersey with 11 each, and Ohio with 9.
National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center
The ISIS caseload has also skewed overwhelmingly male and relatively young: more than 90% of those charged were male, with ages ranging from 17 to 56 and an average age of 27.
Material support was the most common charge, with 208 of the 280 people charged — 74.28% — facing material-support charges.
As of September 1, 2026, 239 people, or 85.35%, had been found guilty or pleaded guilty. Among the 227 people sentenced, the average prison sentence was 12.93 years, with sentences ranging from time served to life in prison, according to the report.
The report’s database was compiled from open-source federal court records and includes cases in which a person was federally charged and either self-described as an ISIS member or adherent or was described that way by an investigating agency. The data does not include state-level charges.
In the case of Kramer, the FBI had him on its radar when he was a juvenile, after investigating him for allegedly plotting a mass-casualty incident and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was later adjudicated delinquent in Pennsylvania, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center
The FBI then received an anonymous tip about Kramer on March 19, after he had been released from juvenile detention. The tipster reported alarming behavior, and investigators later identified an online persona allegedly used by Kramer, “Hamza Al Rashid,” who claimed an affiliation with ISIS and offered explosive manuals online.
According to the affidavit, Kramer said he was preparing for a “mission” but was missing a weapon.
On September 12, FBI agents surveilling Kramer watched him leave his residence carrying a bag and take a rideshare to a retail store, where he purchased a disposable cellphone. He later met another individual and received a long black bag from the trunk of a vehicle before going to a hotel in Cranberry Township.
Agents followed Kramer to the hotel and observed him carrying the bags into the parking lot. Investigators then approached him and found that he had purchased items from a sporting goods store, including equipment from the store’s gun counter.
Search warrants were subsequently executed on Kramer’s person, hotel room, and residence. Agents seized a semiautomatic rifle, five magazines — including two that were loaded — and approximately 190 rounds of rifle ammunition. Law enforcement also found a bipod, scope, entrenching tool, prayer rug, pepper spray, and roughly 30 knives.
The affidavit also says investigators found a handwritten note that read: “DoNt look For me[.] IDK what I did buT I cant live In constant Fear[.]”
Prosecutors claim Kramer was preparing for an ISIS-inspired mass-casualty attack and that his acquisition of the rifle and ammunition was part of his preparations.
“As Americans observed the 25th anniversary of 9/11, our law enforcement partners were working to protect our country from the continued threat of terrorism,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their outstanding work thwarted this alleged attack before innocent lives could be lost. The Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue anyone who seeks to terrorize the American people and bring them to justice.”
Kramer appeared in federal court on Monday. Prosecutors are seeking to have him detained without bond, arguing that he poses a danger to the community.
The federal complaint charges Kramer with receiving a firearm and ammunition knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit a felony or federal terrorism crime, including providing material support to ISIS.
“Once again, results like these are exactly why we made changes to this FBI and the way it runs — to save lives before would-be criminals can act,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “It’s why this FBI has disrupted 1,097 terrorists, 20% more than the last 18 months before the Trump administration started — as well as executing 42% more Foreign Terrorist Organization-related arrests and dismantling 96% more FTOs.”
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