Jamaican cleric convicted in NY state terrorism trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A Jamaican cleric accused of recruiting support for the Islamic State group has been convicted in New York. Abdullah el-Faisal’s conviction Thursday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan is for counts including soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism. El-Faisal was arrested in his native Jamaica in 2017 and extradited to New York City in 2020 after an undercover New York Police Department sting that went international. Authorities say that beginning in 2016, an undercover officer in New York posed as a would-be jihadist and started communicating with the cleric. Michael Fineman, an attorney for el-Faisal, says he plans to appeal.