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New Year's Eve ISIS case adjourned until June
Gary Craig
@gcraig1
The criminal case against the Rochester man accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a bar on New Year's Eve has been adjourned until June.
Federal prosecutors are continuing to turn over evidence in the case to attorneys for Emanuel Lutchman, 26, who is now jailed awaiting trial.
"We have some issues that we have to work through related to classification and other sensitive issues," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Harvey said in federal court Tuesday, discussing evidence in the case against Lutchman.
Lutchman is scheduled to return to court June 16.
Rochester man linked to ISIS planned New Year's Eve attack on bar, feds say
Federal authorities allege that Lutchman, who has suffered from mental instability, planned to take a machete into a Rochester bar on New Year's Eve and kidnap and kill patrons. Lutchman allegedly created an audio recording swearing allegiance to the Islamic State, the terrorist organization also known as ISIS or ISIL.
The FBI, working with an informant, arrested Lutchman on Dec. 30, accusing him of a plan to assist ISIS.
Andreatta: The truthiness about Lutchman
Lutchman's relatives contend that federal authorities took advantage of an unstable man, using the informant to cajole him toward the alleged criminal activity. His aunt, Shirley Moody, said after Tuesday's hearing that violence was not the nature of her nephew and she believed the allegations against him are untrue.
Some people equate the violent ISIS factions with the Muslim religion, she said.
"We're not terrorists," she said.
GCRAIG@Gannett.com