TRENTON – He planned to detonate a pressure cooker bomb in New York City. Instead, he got sentenced to 16 years in federal prison.
Gregory Lepsky, 22, of Point Pleasant, pleaded guilty in March 2018 to one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, in this case, ISIS. He admitted that starting in January 2017, he used plans to build the bomb to use for an attack.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp sentenced him to 16 years in prison today. Lepsky is subject to lifetime supervised release.
Lepsky was arrested at his family home in Point Pleasant on Feb. 21, 2017, where local police found a new pressure cooker in his bedroom closet. Authorities found plans on Lepsky’s computers and other digital devices to build and detonate the bomb, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said.
The man communicated on social media that he intended to fight for ISIS, willing to become a martyr by blowing up himself and “enemies” – U.S. citizens and residents. Authorities also recovered a message from another ISIS supporter saying if a westerner couldn’t fight for ISIS in Syria, he could conduct attacks in his home country.
Carpenito and Demers credited the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the State Attorney General’s Office, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Point Pleasant Police Department, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
