Catherine Beth Washburn, a 37-year-old stay-at-home mother of two from Irondequoit, New York, has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Federal prosecutors allege she transferred US$30,000 in cryptocurrency to the group in 80 separate transactions and expressed a desire for the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack to happen every day.
From PTA to PIJ: The radicalization of a suburban mom
According to the New York Post, Washburn's transformation began after the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas killed 1,200 people. She allegedly formed the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, which prosecutors describe as advocating violence, sabotage, and property destruction. Her online persona shifted from typical middle-class family photos to images of her wearing a hijab, posting anti-Israeli screeds, and posing in a Hamas costume holding hand grenades.
Washburn told a Palestinian terrorist pen pal: "I wish every day were October 7." She also wrote, "If I lived in Gaza, I would fight alongside the resistance," and expressed excitement at news of Israeli soldier deaths. Her communications frequently conveyed hatred of Israel and Jewish people.
Cryptocurrency transfers and a martyr's mindset
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York alleges Washburn sent US$30,000 in cryptocurrency to PIJ, a group responsible for violent attacks. In November 2023, she wrote to her pen pal: "Based on my passed fundraising and posting Im gonna get put away for a few life times," adding a laughing emoji. She is currently held without bail in Buffalo.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo stated: "This defendant, fuelled 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. Despite her alleged attempts, including cryptic communications with a fighter involved in violent attacks in an area thousands of miles away, Catherine Washburn was stopped and so too were her efforts to support violent extremism."
Washburn faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the single count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
