Rhode Island Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Commit Acts of Terrorism to Support ISIS

BOSTON – Nicholas Rovinski was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Nicholas Alexander Rovinski, a/k/a Nuh Amriki, a/k/a Nuh Andalusi, 27, of Warwick, R.I., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. In September 2016, Rovinski pleaded guilty to conspiring with David Daoud Wright, 28, and Usaamah Abdullah Rahim (now deceased) to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) - a designated foreign terrorist organization -  and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. 

Wright was sentenced yesterday to 28 years in prison after being convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.

In December 2014, Rovinski began talking with Wright about their mutual desire to support ISIS and how they could provide assistance to that terrorist organization.  By April 2015, Rovinski, Wright, and Rahim had agreed to commit attacks and kill people inside the United States – acts which they believed would support ISIS’s objectives.  Their attack plans included the beheading of a New York woman whom ISIS had identified to its supporters for murder through a “fatwah” or religious decree.  In May 2015, Junaid Hussain, an ISIS recruiter in Syria, had directly communicated instructions to Rahim regarding the murder of the intended New York victim, in which the three men each agreed to play a critical role. 

During the early morning hours of June 2, 2015, Rahim sought Wright’s guidance and advice, as Rahim could not wait until July 4, 2015, as originally planned, to go after their target, and instead wanted to go operational that day.  Rahim mentioned the possibility of going after an “easier” target -- the “boys in blue” in Massachusetts.  In response, Wright instructed and directed Rahim to “pursue martyrdom” and attack the police officers.  Less than two hours after this call, Rahim was shot and killed after he lunged towards law enforcement officers with a large fighting knife.      

On June 11, 2015, Rovinski was arrested for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, but his arrest did not deter his commitment to ISIS. Even after being arrested, Rovinski sought to continue the attacks he had planned with Wright and Rahim, writing letters to Wright from prison discussing ways to take down the United States government and decapitate non-believers.   

Pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the government, Rovinski testified against his co-defendant Wright at his trial.  In addition, as the government told the court, Rovinski was a follower in this ISIS attack plan, while Wright was the mastermind. 

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Dana J. Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today.  This investigation was conducted by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Rhode Island Joint Terrorism Task Force with assistance from the Boston Police Department, Boston Regional Intelligence Center, Massachusetts State Police, Commonwealth Fusion Center, Everett Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Rhode Island State Police, Warwick (R.I.) Police Department, Rhode Island Fusion Center, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann of Weinreb’s National Security Unit and Trial Attorney Gregory R. Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.