A man who warned the creators of South Park that they would be killed if they joked about Prophet Mohammed on the show appeared Thursday in court after being arrested while allegedly trying to fly to Uganda to join the al-Shabab terror group, dpa reported.
Zachary Chesser, 20, appeared in US District Court in Alexandria Virgina, on charges of providing material support to al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility for a July 11 bombing in Uganda that killed 75 people watching the World Cup.
Chesser came to public attention earlier this year when he posted an online video warning the creators of South Park that they could be killed for mocking the founder of Islam.
"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid. ... They will probably end up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," Chesser wrote in reference to the Dutch filmmaker who was killed in 2004 after making a documentary about violence against Muslim women.
Chesser's arrest was unrelated to that incident and centered on his attempt to fly to Africa allegedly to join al-Shabab.
According to prosecutors, Chesser first tried to fly to Somalia last year but was thwarted when his mother-in-law took away his passport. He then tried to fly on July 10 to Uganda but was refused permission to board the plane when his name appeared on a no-fly list.