FBI agents swarmed a quiet cul-de-sac in Lakeside, California, before dawn on Friday, pulling a 25-year-old Navy sailor out of his family home and into federal custody. Bereen Dzayee was one of three men arrested that morning on allegations they conspired to provide material support to ISIS, a plot that prosecutors say included discussions about killing American troops, sending money for drones and rocket-propelled grenades, and leaving the country to fight for the terrorist organization.
The Department of Justice identified the other two suspects as Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California, and Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas. A federal complaint filed in Kansas court laid out the government's case: the three men had been communicating online for more than a year, and in those conversations they allegedly expressed a willingness to die on behalf of ISIS.
The allegations are as serious as domestic terror cases get. One of the accused, a man wearing the uniform of the United States Navy, allegedly suggested targeting U.S. Special Forces. Another allegedly told his contacts he wanted to "stab and injure a US servicemember." The third allegedly declared, "I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans."
What prosecutors say the trio planned
The federal complaint, as reported by the Daily Mail, paints a picture of sustained, deliberate conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged the men discussed detailed plans to travel outside the United States and fight for ISIS. They allegedly paid $2,000 to someone they believed was an ISIS member, after being told the money would help purchase drones and rocket-propelled grenades.
Ghafoor's alleged statements stand out for their graphic nature. The DOJ revealed that Ghafoor shared a desire to behead a female soldier. He also allegedly said it would be "sick" if his name were written on the drone they wished to use in the planned attack.
Dzayee, the Navy sailor, allegedly went further than talk. Prosecutors said he specifically suggested targeting U.S. Special Forces, the very military he had sworn to serve alongside. A now-deleted Instagram post showed Dzayee wearing his Navy uniform.
Shamsaldeen, for his part, allegedly told online contacts he wanted to stab and injure a U.S. service member.
A pre-dawn raid in a California neighborhood
Neighbors in Lakeside described the arrest in vivid terms. A neighbor told NBC 7 what the scene looked like around 6 a.m. Friday:
"We looked out, it seemed to me like it was a white van that pulled up and tactical guys jumped out and surrounded the house. Very odd in this neighborhood. So the neighbors started coming out. We didn't approach but we were watching."
FBI agents and officials with the Terrorist Task Force descended on Dzayee's family home. Locals said agents spent hours searching the property, going through the family's garbage, and speaking with Dzayee's parents. Agents were seen carrying large brown bags out of the home, though the contents remained unclear.
The same neighbor told NBC 7 that concern rippled through the block fast enough that he walked up to an FBI agent and asked whether the house was going to blow up, whether the neighborhood should be worried.
"I actually walked up to the FBI agent and asked if the house was going to blow up, should the neighborhood be concerned, and he assured me, 'No, we're arresting someone is all we got.'"
Another man who lives nearby told NBC 7 that, from what he had seen, Dzayee was not a social person. That quiet profile now takes on a different cast.
Officials frame the arrests as a national security win
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche moved quickly to frame the operation in broader terms. His statement connected the arrests to the administration's wider posture on terrorism and organized crime:
"This administration has put terrorists, cartels, and gangs on notice. Today's arrest of three individuals who allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIS makes clear our commitment to taking down terrorist networks, anywhere."
Blanche credited the FBI directly, saying its vigilance dismantled the alleged scheme and "further acts of violence against U.S. service members were prevented."
FBI Director Kash Patel was more pointed. He called the operation a success and cast it as proof that the bureau is delivering results under its current leadership. The cases involving individuals who allegedly betray their oaths or target those in uniform remain among the most disturbing criminal allegations federal law enforcement confronts.
"These subjects allegedly swore allegiance to ISIS, plotted multiple attacks, and even targeted U.S. service members, but this FBI stopped them cold."
Patel added that the operation demonstrated "this FBI's continued record of stopping terrorist attacks before they happen, simply the best way to defend the homeland."
The insider threat no one wants to talk about
The most unsettling dimension of this case is not the alleged $2,000 payment or even the online chatter about beheadings and drones. It is the fact that one of the accused was inside the U.S. military.
Dzayee served in the Navy. He posted a photo of himself in uniform on Instagram. And prosecutors allege he used his knowledge of the armed forces to suggest a specific target: U.S. Special Forces. If the government's allegations hold up, this was not merely a case of radicalized civilians fantasizing online. It was an insider threat, someone with access, training, and proximity to the very people he allegedly wanted harmed.
The complaint does not specify Dzayee's rank, assignment, or current duty status. It does not identify the person the trio allegedly believed was an ISIS member and to whom they allegedly sent $2,000. Nor does it indicate whether any of the three men have entered pleas or appeared in court.
Those gaps matter. Federal complaints are allegations, not convictions. But the scope of the alleged conduct, year-long online coordination, financial support for weapons procurement, stated desires to kill hundreds of millions of people, and specific targeting of military personnel, puts this squarely in the category of cases that demand full transparency and aggressive prosecution.
What comes next
The complaint was filed in Kansas federal court, reflecting Ghafoor's residence in Leawood. The case will proceed from there, though the geographic spread of the defendants, California and Kansas, may complicate logistics.
The public record so far leaves several questions unanswered. What specific charges or statutes were filed against each man? What agencies make up the Terrorist Task Force referenced in the arrest? What was in the brown bags agents carried out of the Lakeside home? And how did a Navy sailor allegedly radicalize to the point of targeting his own nation's elite warriors without anyone in his chain of command raising a flag?
Those answers will come, or they won't. Either way, the case is a reminder that the threat from ISIS did not vanish when the caliphate collapsed. It migrated online, into encrypted chats and anonymous message boards, and apparently into the ranks of the American military itself.
When a man in a Navy uniform allegedly plots to fund RPGs for ISIS and target U.S. Special Forces, the system that caught him deserves credit. But the system that let him serve deserves hard questions.
