US man faces up to 100 years in jail for trying to help Hamas

Jonathan Xie was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organisation, making false statements and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

He was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon in the city of Newark, New Jersey.

In a press release, the FBI said that Xie could face up to 100 years in jail if convicted of the charges.

It was not immediately known if he had received legal representation. An unnamed official told the US television network NBC that Xie had a history of mental illness.

The US attorney's office alleges Xie posted on Instagram that he wanted to bomb the Israeli embassy and Trump Tower in New York.

There were also reports that he had previously made a threat to the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

According to a criminal complaint, a person wearing a black ski mask later identified as Xie said in an Instagram video that he was against "Zionism" and the "neo-liberal establishment" and, in response to a question, said he would join Hamas "if I could find a way."

Later in the video, Xie allegedly displayed a handgun and said he was going to go to a pro-Israel march "and I'm going to shoot everybody."

According to the account of a person who interacted online with Xie and later contacted the FBI, Xie said the attack would be at an Al-Quds Day parade.

Al-Quds Day is an annual event in support of Palestine, started by the Iranian government in 1979 and held around the final Friday of Ramadan.

Xie sent $100 to a person he believed was affiliated with a faction of Hamas last December, and a few days later, posted on his Instagram account that he was "pretty sure it was illegal but I don't give a damn," according to the complaint.

The US has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization since 1997.