Catherine Beth Washburn, seen here in an undated photo provided by the Justice Department, was arrested and charged Tuesday for allegedly providing tens of thousands of dollars to a U.S. designated terrorist organization. Photo courtesy Justice Department/Release
Federal authorities have arrested and charged an upstate New York woman accused of transferring more than $30,000 in cryptocurrency to Palestine Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based militant group that participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The FBI’s Buffalo field office said it arrested Catherine Beth Washburn, 37, of Irondequoit, N.Y., on Tuesday, the same day she made her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pederson.
Washburn was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, and could face up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
“This defendant, fueled 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,” U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York said in a statement.
“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.”
Federal prosecutors alleged that she made about 80 cryptocurrency transfers valued at a combined $30,116 to Palestine Islamic Jihad, a Sunni Islamist militant group based in Gaza.
Palestine Islamic Jihad participated alongside Iran-backed Hamas in the bloody surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis and during which 251 victims were taken hostage.
The Oct. 7 attack sparked the Hamas-Israel war that devastated Gaza, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children.
According to the criminal complaint, Washburn is a leader of the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation. Prosecutors described DAMPL as a group that formed following the Oct. 7 attack and rejects peaceful protest and promotes direct action against those it associates with Israel.
The criminal complaint states that search warrants executed by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in February and March resulted in the seizure of electronic messages allegedly between Washburn and a person identified as a Palestine Islamic Jihad fighter in Gaza.
“I wish every day were October 7th,” she allegedly messaged the unidentified individual, who federal prosecutors said had told Washburn that they had participated in Palestine Islamic Jihad attacks against Israel.
“If I lived in Gaza, I would fight alongside the resistance,” she allegedly told the person.
In one message from November, Washburn allegedly wrote that based on her fundraising activities for Palestine Islamic Jihad she would be “put away for a few life times,” according to the complaint.
The Justice Department announced today that Catherine Beth Washburn, 37, of Irondequoit, New York, was ARRESTED AND CHARGED by criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support and resources, namely currency, to designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) the… pic.twitter.com/AIQs3ooxbD— National Security Division, U.S. Dept of Justice (@DOJNatSec) June 30, 2026
