NEW YORK — A Bronx drug addict was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday for spreading ISIS propaganda online.
Zachary Clark, who suffers from bipolar disorder and years of hard drug abuse, got no mercy from Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.
Clark’s communications on encrypted chat rooms in 2019 revealed he was extremely dangerous, the judge said. The troubled 42-year-old pondered a lone wolf terrorist attack in New York City, disseminated attack plans and bomb-making instructions, proclaiming “media is my jihad.”
“These materials were the real deal,” Buchwald said in Manhattan federal court. “Mr. Clark expressed a willingness to die for the cause. ... Mr. Clark’s preferred target was local and directed toward American citizens.”
The judge noted that Clark’s many tattoos include a wolf and the letters LW on his hand, for “lone wolf.” She also imposed lifetime supervised release on Clark, finding he will remain a potential threat to society as long as he lives.
Clark mainlined drugs for years, regularly shooting up 20 bundles of heroin and three grams of cocaine a day, federal defender Jonathan Marvinny said. Clark nearly fatally overdosed three times. On the day of his arrest in November 2019, Clark nodded off and was unable to communicate with his attorney.
“An apology would be a great understatement,” Clark said in court, adding that treatment helped him understand that his online activities had real-world impact.
But Clark’s addiction did not cloud his devotion to the terrorist cause, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Hellman said. He discussed attacks with vehicles and guns. Clark considered a terrorist plot on the subway system, which his family regularly used.
“Mr. Clark understood the immense value of propaganda to an organization like ISIS,” Hellman said. “His commitment to ISIS was absolute.”
