Rochester man linked to ISIS planned New Year's Eve attack on bar, feds say

The attack, authorities say, could have been gruesome: a New Year's Eve assault on a Rochester restaurant and bar by an Islamic State sympathizer armed with knives and a machete.

"I will take a life," 25-year-old Emanuel Lutchman allegedly said on Tuesday about his apparent plot to attack patrons at Merchants Grill, 881 Merchants Road. "I don't have a problem with that."

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force on Wednesday arrested Lutchman, charging him with offering "material support" to terrorists. He appeared in federal court Thursday morning — the media was not alerted in advance — and is scheduled to return Jan. 8. He is now detained.

With a populace already fearful of the impact of Islamic State propaganda on extreme fundamentalist Muslims and the mentally unstable, Rochester on Thursday again entered the national conversation about the reach of the terrorist network. The city canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks in the wake of Lutchman's arrest.

Earlier in December, a Rochester pizza shop owner, Mufid Elfgeeh, pleaded guilty to trying to recruit two men for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

The public record available on Lutchman and conversations with some who knew him reveal an unstable man who may have been particularly susceptible to the influence of the Islamic State, which has tried to harness social media for propaganda as it seeks to establish a foothold for a Middle East caliphate.

In mid-January, Lutchman was scheduled to appear in state court on domestic violence charges involving a girlfriend. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to "menacing" the same woman; specifics of the misdemeanor incident were not immediately available Thursday.

Lutchman "is a self-professed Muslim convert with a criminal history dating back to approximately 2006 ... as well as previous state mental hygiene arrests," FBI Special Agent Timothy Klapec wrote in a Dec. 30 affidavit. Police can execute a "mental hygiene" arrest of someone who appears so psychologically unstable that he or she may hurt themselves or others.

No more details were available Thursday about the mental hygiene incidents. He also served prison time for a 2006 robbery conviction.

Quick look: What we know so far about the suspect & the plot

Court papers show that the FBI utilized three FBI informants to build a case against Lutchman. Lutchman at one point considered abandoning the plot after one informant said he had decided not to be involved, the affidavit states. Another informant told him "not to let (the informant's) backing out of the operation upset him," and Lutchman then decided to continue with the planned attack, the court papers state.

Lutchman's troubled mental health past may raise questions about how serious he was about his plan and whether the FBI's operation pushed him toward it. FBI officials and federal prosecutors declined comment Thursday beyond statements in a news release.

"The FBI thwarted Emanuel Lutchman’s intent to kill civilians on New Year's Eve,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Adam Cohen said in a news release Thursday.

While federal authorities declined to discuss the arrest Thursday (they also would not answer questions after Elfgeeh's plea), the FBI affidavit likely provides what prosecutors will say is proof that Lutchman was serious about his intent. Lutchman, authorities say, told an informant in early December that he had been in discussions with an ISIS "brother" located overseas.

"Lutchman expressed his hatred for everything American and his intention to make hijra and leave America," Klapec wrote. "Hijra" means migration, and authorities allege this was Lutchman's term for his intent to travel to join ISIS.

The ISIS-connected individual allegedly told Lutchman that he would need to prove himself, and an operation on New Year's Eve or whenever he could kill "1,000,000s of kuffar" could prove his mettle. "Kuffar" is a Arabic word for infidel.

Lutchman suggested to an informant that they use a bomb inside a "club/bar" and also suggested that "they kidnap a couple of people and kill them," according to court papers. He identified one potential target; the FBI did not identify the establishment in court papers, but Merchants Grill co-owner John Page said Thursday that he was told by authorities the location was his operation.

On Dec. 29 Lutchman and an informant allegedly went to a Walmart on Hudson Avenue and bought a machete, duct tape, knives, ammonia, latex gloves, and zip ties to use if they abducted a restaurant patron. Lutchman had no money; the informant bought the materials for approximately $40.

Later, in a discussion, Lutchman allegedly told the informant, "It's going to get real after this. It's just you, me and the Lord. We gotta do this."

"If we grab somebody, they can't live," Lutchman allegedly said. "They may identify the vehicle. They can't live."

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Lutchman on Wednesday as he was in a car with an informant. Before that, Lutchman allegedly made a video on a mobile telephone pledging allegiance to ISIS and claiming responsibility for the planned attack.

Federal and state officials on Thursday praised law enforcement, saying a bloody assault had been stopped.

“According to the (criminal complaint), as part of Emanuel Lutchman’s attempt to provide material support to ISIL, he planned to kill innocent civilians on New Year’s Eve in the name of the terrorist organization,” said U.S. Assistant Attorney General John Carlin. “Thankfully, law enforcement was able to intervene and thwart Lutchman's deadly plans.”

U.S. Attorney William Hochul Jr. said, “This New Year’s Eve prosecution underscores the threat of ISIL even in upstate New York but demonstrates our determination to immediately stop any who would cause harm in its name."

"Law enforcement has once again thwarted a potential lone wolf terrorist attack encouraged by ISIS," said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. "It is now clear that ISIS is focusing on identifying disaffected individuals here in America and encouraging them to act as lone wolves to commit evil acts."

This is the second ISIS-connected arrest in Rochester in the past 17 months. Elfgeeh, 32, was arrested last year and accused of recruiting for ISIS.

Elfgeeh also plotted to kill returning American troops, the FBI and federal prosecutors alleged.

Under Elfgeeh's plea agreement, his sentence would be 22½ years. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

In an interview with Time Warner Cable News on Thursday afternoon, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the "good news is that law enforcement worked." He said New York has significant experience in fighting terrorism, and although the fight has become more difficult over the years, law enforcement has risen to the challenge.

He called on citizens to be vigilant and to report suspicious activities.

"This is something that is going to be an ongoing challenge," he said. "Every citizen must remain diligent, and if you see something, say something."

GCRAIG@Gannett.com

​Includes reporting by staff writers Brian Sharp, Meaghan M. McDermott, Jon Hand and Sean Lahman.