A New Jersey teenager, once aspiring to be an NFL player, reportedly turned to radical extremism online, aligning himself with ISIS, as revealed by the Daily Mail.

Instead of pursuing a career in one of America’s most celebrated sports leagues, Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzel allegedly opted to affiliate himself with an enemy of the state.

Jimenez, 19, alongside Milo Sedarat, 21, was apprehended last Tuesday. Federal prosecutors have linked them to a scheme to bomb gay bars in Detroit during a Halloween attack inspired by ISIS.

Both individuals resided in Montclair, an affluent suburb in Essex County, New Jersey, which is also the home of the state’s newly elected governor, Mikie Sherrill. The town is situated approximately 45 minutes from New York City.

Sedarat was detained at his family’s residence, valued at $1.2 million. Meanwhile, Jimenez, who went by ‘TK,’ was arrested at Newark Airport. He lived nearby in his mother’s five-bedroom house, worth $1.1 million, and was allegedly attempting to travel to Turkey with Syria as his ultimate destination.

The two men, described as alleged homegrown terrorists, are Montclair High School graduates and hail from prosperous families.

Just months before his arrest, six-foot-one, 235-pound Jimenez, was a promising high school football player who dreamed of a scholarship and a shot at the NFL.

In an online personal statement on his college recruitment profile he wrote: ‘I work my hardest day and night to be the star player I strive to become, as well as a better man.

‘I have a lifetime goal of succeeding in football to play in the next level, and in the NFL.’

The defensive end boasted about his tenacity, aggression and athleticism, saying he puts in ‘110%’ hard work into everything he does.

Pictures and videos obtained by the Daily Mail show the high school athlete posing in his number 99 jersey. 

The 19-year-old previously attended the exclusive Xavier High School in Manhattan, according to his sporting profiles, which boasts a Catholic, Jesuit education, with fees exceeding $26,000 a year.

Sedarat, the son of noted Iranian American poet Roger Sedarat, was also a keen athlete at the Montclair school, with an online roster showing he was a member of the wrestling team for at least a year.

Video footage obtained by Daily Mail shows Sedarat smiling and receiving his high school diploma in 2023, appearing every inch the all-American student his family and friends believed he was.

But Jimenez skipped his graduation ceremony on June 26 this year, and less than a month later was allegedly sending pro-ISIS statements online, according to charging papers prepared by FBI Special Agent Dylan Cochran..

Social media posts seen by the Daily Mail in an account linked to Jimenez, which has since been suspended, show him appearing to engage in pro-ISIS rhetoric online.

One response to his post stated ‘you think you can fool me with your Islamic talk?’, while another told him to learn more about Islam by ‘studying books instead of getting knowledge through discord’.

Chilling messages obtained by federal investigators alleged that the teen wanted to carry out a Boston Marathon-style attack that would make him so famous, he’d have a Wikipedia page and a Netflix special, wrote FBI gent Cochran.

Some messages also included photographs of Jimenez standing in front of an ISIS flag holding a knife.

He also wanted to be known as ‘one of the 100 most evil people in the world’, wrote Cochran, and even volunteered to be in charge of beheadings if the group of alleged co-conspirators ever needed to make any propaganda videos, coldly saying: ‘I’ll do it, bro’, Cochran wrote.

Jimenez allegedly even posted a document in Arabic on social media titled in English ‘KILL THEM SILENTLY’, which is believed to encourage Muslims to practice the ‘obligation’ of jihad and ‘terrorize the disbelievers to avenge their Muslim brothers’.

The twisted teen even allegedly told the group that killing would be ‘easy’ for him, in messages obtained by investigators, the court paper states.

The aspiring NFL player started to appear in pro-ISIS groups from October 2024, according to investigators.

He was interviewed by the FBI after posting on social media that some kind of terror attack would occur in Boston, admitting to law enforcement he made the statement.

In one communication intercepted by authorities, the teen said, ’13 men can cause so much damage,’ with federal documents stating that  the leader of the group was based in Sweden, with others in the United Kingdom.

Federal court documents show Jimenez considered himself the ‘recruiter’ of the group, and bragged he had taken an oath to ISIS.

Three days before his high school graduation ceremony, the teenager was sending messages about traveling to Libya for Islamic State training.

According to Cochran, other members of the group agreed to make Jimenez second in command, with another member mentioning in a video call that he would be the new Jihadi John – the nickname given to ISIS executioner Mohammed Emwazi.

Social media posts show that Jimenez had spent time in Istanbul prior to his attempt to flee to join the terrorist organization, with his maternal grandfather living there.

The youngster can be seen in photos dating back to 2017 in Turkey, posing with family members and celebrating his heritage.

His mother, Meral Guzel, currently serves as head of the United Nation’s Women’s Entrepreneurship program.

Guzel has been with the UN for more than a decade working on women empowerment projects, according to her LinkedIn account, and previously worked in the finance sector.

Relatives of Jimenez did not respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors say that the two boys from New Jersey are part of a group of six suspects charged in three states.

Sedarat’s father, Roger Sedarat, a professor at Queens College in New York City, declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail at his $1.2m home. 

The arrests came after authorities uncovered alleged plans for mass shootings in Michigan and plans to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of the Islamic State terror group.

The suspects in Michigan allegedly bought guns and ammo for a massacre at LGBT nightclubs, with another being arrested in Washington state.

Milo Sedarat bragged about being ‘the biggest antisemite in America’, ranting that he wanted to murder his artist mom’s Jewish friends and posed for pictures in his family home with swords and knives, according to a court paper.

A court document shows that he ranted about  ‘filthy rat Jews need to be eliminated’, and sickeningly stating: ‘We need to do a 9/11 to [Tel Aviv].’

The terror network came to light following an investigation by the NYPD and FBI, related to a major ISIS-linked terror network the two law enforcement group uncovered.

The court paper alleges the 21-year-old raged online about how he wanted to carry out mass executions of Jews, and wanted to run down a pro-Israel demonstration in affluent Montclair.

‘I’m the biggest anti semite in America,’ he allegedly wrote to an unidentified friend, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Following widespread anti-Israel protests on college campuses in April over the conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists, he allegedly wrote to the same friend: ‘Everyone hates the Jews now…I hope a second holocaust happens to them.’

He also allegedly told suspected co-conspirators that he wanted to kill his mother’s Jewish friends.

In January, according to the complaint,  he wrote: ‘Bro my moms Jewish friends r brainwashing her…Into being a Zionist. I wanna kill her friends….I’m gonna stab them with my sword.’

Sedarat sent multiple images of himself brandishing a knife, a sword or both to the unidentified recipient, sometimes donning a balaclava.

He also posed for photos, both with a handgun and a rifle, while practicing shooting at a gun range.

The probe revealed that law enforcement believed he had purchased ‘knives, tactical gear, and other equipment online’ and in one direct message exchange complained that his mother had hidden one of his katana swords.

Jimenez is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terror group, while Sedarat faces two counts of transmitting threats to interstate and foreign commerce.

They were both shackled as they appeared in a New Jersey court on Wednesday, when a judge barred them from having contact with their alleged co-conspirators.

If convicted, they could now face 20 years in prison per count, plus a $250,000 fine and a lifetime supervised release. Jimenez is already seeking a plea deal and his next court appearance has been postponed to January to give time to work one out.

Three of the other men arrested in connection with the plot are Mohamed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both 20, and Ayob Nasser, 19.

As the attack would have unfolded in gay bars in Michigan, Ali and the rest of the group intended to make their way to Syria to train with ISIS, prosecutors said in court documents.

Authorities said their raids uncovered three AR-15 style rifles, two shotguns, four pistols, and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition.

The raids also led to the discovery of GoPro cameras, tactical vests and combat gear, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the men were homegrown suspected terrorists, but investigators were looking into possible connections to foreign nations.

The suspects were on 24/7 surveillance, and were heard discussing a ‘pumpkin day’ assault, officials said.

There were allegedly disagreements within the group about postponing the attack until after Halloween, with some arguing that they needed more time to prepare for the plot.

Exact targets within Michigan were reportedly not nailed down but the group also discussed visiting New York City’s Rockefeller Center and the Statue of Liberty, although it was not clear if they were potential targets.