A man formerly from the Pittsburgh region is facing terrorism-related charges after federal officials said they discovered evidence of his efforts to join a terrorist organization last year.
According to charges filed this week by a federal grand jury, they were shown evidence that revealed 24-year-old Jack Danaher Molloy, formerly of the South Hills suburbs in Allegheny County, Pa., had traveled to Lebanon and Syria to support Hezbollah, lying to federal agents about his intent for these visits.
As they conducted investigations, federal agents said they found several concerning signs of strong antisemitic beliefs from Molloy that were expressed online.
“The FBI’s No. 1 priority is to protect the American people from both domestic and international terrorist threats,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek.
“To achieve that end, the FBI will leverage the entirety of our resources, partnerships, and all applicable laws to bring to justice anyone who seeks to support or aid any foreign terror organizations, especially groups as deadly as Hezbollah.”
In the recent release from federal prosecutors, officials alleged Molloy attempted to provide material support and resources, including personnel and service, to the foreign terrorist organization Hezbollah throughout 2024.
The first incident occurred in August when Molloy, a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland with previous experience in the U.S. Army, traveled to Lebanon to join the group.
During this visit in August, the terrorist group allegedly told Molloy “the time was not right” for him to join the group’s operations and additional steps were needed to join.
In October, Molloy traveled to Syria in an attempt to support their forces once again, eventually returning to his residence in Upper St. Clair Township, where he continued his efforts to join the group online.
While trying to join Hezbollah in the United States and abroad, federal agents said Molloy expressed his hatred towards the Jewish faith and promoted violence against Jewish people. Across his devices, investigators said they found several concerning videos and images, as well as his usernames on various websites, including a Twitter handle that included antisemitic slurs.
