Enemy Within: Two California Men Reportedly Conspired to Join ISIS

I hate to do it.

Here we are, heading into Memorial Day weekend, with backyard barbeques, parades, sunshine and trips to the ballpark beckoning.

And then I show up with more dire news about ISIS and what its network of supporters is doing on American soil.

It’s unpleasant business, particularly on a holiday weekend when our thoughts should be focused on our brave servicemen and women who have sacrificed so much for our country over generations. But I think you would rather know than not know. And I have to believe that our fallen heroes–some of whom made the ultimate sacrifice while battling the forces of radical Islam–wouldn’t have it any other way. So here is the latest.

Two Anaheim, CA men were arrested yesterday and charged with conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization: namely, ISIS.

According to NBC Los Angeles, Nader Salem Elhuzayel and Muhanad Badawi, both 24 years old, were “trying to travel abroad to join ISIS.”

And so ISIS’s growing network of U.S. supporters and sympathizers makes headlines once again. I’ve reported about the alarming growth in terrorism cases involving ISIS supporters over the past few weeks–in literally every corner of the United States. I also examine this ISIS-inspired homegrown jihad phenomenon in depth in my latest book, “ISIS Exposed.”

But I’m not the only one talking about it. Here’s a sampling of what Obama administration officials–who usually take great pains to downplay the Islamic jihadist threat, to say the least–have been saying recently about the growing severity of the ISIS problem on American soil:

–FBI director James Comey has said that ISIS supporters are active in all 50 U.S. states, and that the Islamic State has potentially “thousands” of American supporters who follow it online. In addition, the FBI is now reportedly visiting American high schools to speak to students about resisting ISIS recruitment. Yes, it has come to this.

–Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson recently told ABC News that ISIS supporters in America could “strike at any moment.” Johnson has also said that at least 40 of the nearly 200 Americans who have traveled overseas to join ISIS have already returned home.

–Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), recently stated that ISIS’s ideology is “increasingly resonating” with a growing number of Americans and that its ability to recruit online is “clearly increasing.”

All of this comes as ISIS has scored decisive victories in the strategic cities of Ramadi, Iraq and Palmyra, Syria over the past week. Oh, and then there’s this.

Look, folks, I certainly don’t want to ruin your holiday or your weekend–or mine. But if we’re going to win this ongoing struggle against a determined, savage jihadist foe, we need to be informed and up to speed on all its latest movements. That’s the price to pay for remaining a free society, as a great man once said.

So Happy Memorial Day, and God bless the brave men and women of the United States military and all of our fallen heroes who have paid the ultimate price to keep our country safe, secure and free.

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