A Pennsylvania man who briefly served in the U.S. military is accused of trying to join the terrorist group Hezbollah with the goal of “killing Jews,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh for allegedly traveling last year to Lebanon and Syria to join the Iran-backed group, despite knowing they were It was a terrorist organization designated by the United States.
According to an affidavit, Molloy, a dual U.S. and Irish citizen who had previously served on active duty in the military, made several attempts to join the terrorist organization.
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Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, was indicted by a grand jury for attempting to support the foreign terrorist organization Hezbollah and making false statements involving international terrorism to a department or agency of the United States. (Ministry of Justice)
The DOJ said the 24-year-old converted to Islam in 2024.
After his conversion, he contacted people in Lebanon while he was in the country in August 2024 to become a Hezbollah fighter, the DOJ alleges. His contacts told him that now was not the time and that he should take further action.
Molloy traveled to Syria in October 2024 and attempted to rejoin it. On his flight back to the United States, the Justice Department said, he lied to FBI agents at Pittsburgh International Airport when he said he had no intention of joining Hezbollah, that he had nothing to do in Syria and that he had met no one there.
Upon his return to the United States, he continued his attempts to join the organization, according to the DOJ.
Hezbollah terrorists train in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border. (AP/Hassan Ammar)
Authorities say Molloy expressed hatred and encouraged violence against Jewish people via social media.
An affidavit reviewed by Fox News Digital says Molloy posted anti-Semitic sentiments on social media.
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Court documents also revealed that he told a family member that his “master plan was to join Hezbollah and kill Jews.”
Jack Danaher Molloy faces a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison. (Ministry of Justice)
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While Molloy was living in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, the DOJ said, he also allegedly visited a website detailing the possible incarceration location of Robert Bowers, who carried out the shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue that killed 11 Jews.
If convicted, Molloy faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on a material support charge. For the false statement charges, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
Fox