Albany-born man among three arrested on terror charges

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — One of three men arrested here Thursday on terrorism-related charges was born in Albany and was previously arrested in his hometown for shoplifting.

Gregory Hubbard, 52, was arrested Thursday while trying to board a plane at the Miami International Airport. An FBI informant said Hubbard, who is also known by his Muslim name “Jibreel,” planned to fly to Berlin and then catch a flight to Syria to support ISIS.

Hubbard, Darren Jackson, 50, and Dayne Christian, 31, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Among evidence confiscated by the FBI during its investigation of the three is an ISIS hit list with more than 8,000 names on it, most American citizens.

In a 22-page criminal complaint signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and filed by FBI Special Agent Brian King, King wrote, “I make this affidavit in support of an application for a criminal complaint charging Gregory Hubbard, Dayne Antani Christian and Darren Arness Jackson with violating (U.S. Code) in that they did knowingly conspire and attempt to provide material support and resources to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, that is, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.”

King, a 13-year FBI veteran, said in the complaint that he is assigned to the FBI’s Miami Field Division, West Palm Beach Resident Agency, as part of a Bureau counterterrorism squad.

Hubbard, who served in the United States Marine Corps for four years and was an artist of some renown, told the FBI informant he was radicalized by Anwar al-Awlaki, who had ties to the recent massacre at an Orlando nightclub. Hubbard reportedly wrote two articles and sent them to ISIS for publication and was working on a third about media coverage of the terrorist group.

The FBI said Hubbard had recently moved many of his belongings, including much of his art work, to a storage unit in Albany.

Albany Police Department Chief Michael Persley said Sunday he was aware of the case only from reports he’d read on the internet. He said neither the FBI nor any other federal agency had contacted him about the case.

“Nobody from any law enforcement agency has been in contact with me about this case,” Persley said. “Normally, when a federal agency conducts an investigation, they determine at what point — if any — they need to make contact with local officials. As of today, I have not been contacted.

“You’re telling me things now I didn’t know. I only know what I’ve read on the internet.”

Asked if he’s concerned that Hubbard’s Albany ties might indicate local ties to ISIS or any other terrorist organization, Persley said he has no reason to suspect that such ties exist.

“We don’t know of anything like that at this time, but we plan to make a full analysis at some time,” the APD chief said. “But, as we always say, we’d like to encourage our citizens that if they see something, say something. Don’t think something out of the ordinary is too insignificant to contact local authorities about.”

Since Hubbard’s familial ties are to Albany, some in the community have linked him to Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard’s family. Hubbard said her family has no ties to Gregory Hubbard.

“Absolutely not; we don’t know him,” Hubbard said Sunday. “My husband’s people are from the Lumpkin area in Stewart County. We’re not kin to most of the Hubbards in Albany.”

King noted in his report signed by Judge McAliley that the term “material support and resources” included in his affidavit means “any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel and transportation …”

King said that Hubbard had professed his desire to travel to Syria and join ISIL for the purpose of “engaging in violent jihad,” his support for deadly terrorist attacks, “such as the mass shootings in San Bernardino, California, and Orlando, Florida,” and for the killing of non-Muslim hostages, “as depicted in beheading videos disseminated over the internet as ISIL propaganda.”

King said Hubbard and Christian used the code term “soccer team” when referring to ISIL, referred to joining ISIL to engage in violent jihad as “playing soccer,” and referred to AK-47 weapons as “the Bible.”

Persley said he had no ready knowledge of Hubbard’s arrest locally for shoplifting, which was obtained in an online search of his background.

The trio arrested Thursday will appear at a hearing Wednesday and will be arraigned on Aug. 5.