Who is Edward Schimenti? Wannabe ISIS terrorist tells judge he’s 'just a big teddy bear' as he gets 13 years
An Illinois man was sentenced to 13.5 years for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and lying to the authorities. During sentencing, the wannabe terrorist apologized to the judge and told her he was "just a big teddy bear."
In 2019, Edward Schimenti, 39, of Zion was convicted by a federal jury on one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS and one count of making false statements to the FBI. Joseph Jones, 39, of Zion was also convicted on a conspiracy count and sentenced to 12 years last month in connection to the alleged plot, according to the Department of Justice.
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An investigation was launched after Schimenti advocated for violent extremism in support of ISIS via his social media posts. One of Schimenti's posts read, "Islamic State will control your country, matter of fact, Islam will dominate the world!!" Meanwhile, he had set the profile photo on his Google+ account as the Islamic State flag, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Prosecutors revealed how Jones and Schimenti had met with two undercover government informants who called themselves Omar and Bilal on December 29, 2015. During the encounter, Bilal reportedly asked them whether they had pledged allegiance to ISIS. This made Schimenti suspicious and he left the meeting abruptly, per the report.
Authorities continued to monitor Schimenti's movements, and the FBI sent a confidential informant to get a job with his employer in November 2016. The informant was able to land the gig and began socializing with Schimenti after work, telling him they had a brother in ISIS who they hoped to join in Syria someday. Schimenti subsequently told the informant about Bilal, per court documents.
Prosecutors said Schimenti also helped the informant get in shape for combat at a local gym, and allegedly told them he hoped they would "cut the neck" of non-believers. The informant reportedly told Schimenti that ISIS fighters had been tracked using "compromised cellphones and that fighters could use cellphones for bombs," per Fox News.
Schimenti is said to have supplied cell phones to the informant in 2017, believing the devices would be used to detonate explosives in ISIS attacks overseas. In April that year, Schimenti reportedly drove the informant to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago for a flight to Syria, and told them to "drench that land with they, they blood" before seeing them off.
During a sentencing hearing on Friday, Schimenti told US District Judge Andrea Wood that he was "just a big teddy bear" and not a terrorist. "I have a heart. I have feelings. I have emotions," he added, per the report.
But Schimenti was "more culpable" than Jones, according to Wood, who noted the former had a "better idea of what he was getting himself into." However, the judge described the crime as "on the less serious end of a scale that starts at a very serious level."
Shortly before being sentenced, Schimenti begged the judge for a second chance. "In the end, your honor, really I guess I’m just asking for another chance at life," he said.
Schimenti's lawyers reportedly argued that the feds had "infiltrated every part" of their client's life and created a "false reality" for Schimenti at the gym, online, and at home, according to a memo obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
"Mr Schimenti only acted when the government placed the opportunity before him and then consistently manipulated him over an extended period until he took the bait," defense attorneys Joshua Adams and Stephen Hall reportedly stated. They also argued that despite Schimenti's social media posts, no member of any terrorist outfit had ever reached out or "ever took Ed seriously."