Federal authorities arrested Catherine Beth Washburn, 37, of Irondequoit, New York, on Tuesday and charged her with attempting to provide material support to the Palestine Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based militant group designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization. The FBI’s Buffalo field office made the arrest, and Washburn appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pederson the same day, according to the Justice Department.
Prosecutors alleged that Washburn made about 80 cryptocurrency transfers totaling $30,116 to a Palestine Islamic Jihad fighter in Gaza. The group participated alongside Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to the criminal complaint.
“This defendant, fueled by her self-described hate of Israel and Jewish people, went to great lengths to attempt to provide financial support to terrorist organizations that use violence to further their agendas, including the Palestine Islamic Jihad,” U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York said in a statement.
The criminal complaint states that search warrants executed by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in February and March resulted in the seizure of electronic messages allegedly between Washburn and the Palestine Islamic Jihad fighter. The fighter had told Washburn they participated in attacks against Israel, prosecutors said.
“I wish every day were October 7th,” Washburn allegedly messaged the individual, according to the complaint. “If I lived in Gaza, I would fight alongside the resistance,” she allegedly told the person.
In a November message, Washburn allegedly wrote that based on her fundraising activities for Palestine Islamic Jihad she would be “put away for a few life times,” according to the complaint.
Washburn is a leader of the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, which prosecutors described as a group that formed after the Oct. 7 attack and rejects peaceful protest while promoting direct action against those it associates with Israel.
Washburn faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.