The man, Marcos Alonso Zea, pleaded not guilty to the charges contained in court papers unsealed on Friday contending he sought to join and provide aid to the group, which the United States regards as one of the most active wings of the militant network.
Appearing in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York, not far from his Brentwood home, where he was arrested earlier in the day, Zea answered "yes" when Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay asked if he understood the charges contained in the five-count indictment.
No bail offer was made and Lindsay noted that "the evidence strongly suggests the defendant poses a danger to the community and given his previous actions, a risk of flight."
Prosecutors charged that Zea planned to join al Qaeda outside the United States that would result in murder.
The United States also charged Zea, who appeared in court wearing a brown shirt and brown pants, his hair pulled back in a ponytail, with attempting to give money to al Qaeda affiliates.
Zea tried to destroy his computers when he learned he was under investigation, prosecutors said. But investigators were able retrieve documents including issues of al Qaeda's "Inspire" magazine from his hard drives. They also recovered a semi-automatic rifle that Zea had given to an acquaintance before his planned trip to Yemen, prosecutors said.
