‘I wish every day were October 7’: NY woman charged with funding Gaza terrorists

NEW YORK — A woman from New York State was arrested on Tuesday for sending funds to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, the latest in a string of alleged terror offenses by anti-Zionist activists in the US.

Catherine Washburn, 37, sent more than $30,000 in funds she had raised for purported humanitarian purposes to a member of the terror group, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Washburn, a resident of Irondequoit, near the city of Rochester in western New York State, is an organizer with Direction Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, the complaint said.

The group is an extremist anti-Israel organization that rejects peaceful protests in favor of “direct action,” an activist term for illegal acts such as sabotage and property destruction.

The complaint, filed by an FBI agent investigating the case, said Washburn had raised funds for a man in Gaza, identified by the initials H.H., starting in November 2024.

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The man told Washburn in February 2025 that he was a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and had attacked IDF troops, but she continued transferring him funds until April, the investigator said.

Washburn said in a February message to H.H., “If I lived in Gaza, I would fight alongside the resistance.”

H.H. told her he was a member of PIJ’s military wing, the Al Quds Brigades, and that he had joined the October 7, 2023, terrorist invasion of Israel. Washburn thanked him for partaking in the attack and praised his bravery.

The alleged terrorist added that he had taken IDF equipment from Israel’s Erez Crossing “after attacking and killing them,” and sent her a video of himself holding an anti-tank rocket launcher with Hebrew writing on the side.

“Oh yes, good job,” Washburn said. “I wish every day were October 7.”

“I hate the Jews very much,” she said.

She also told him, “I wish Israel would disappear,” “Every inch of Palestine must be returned,” and, “Only one state: Palestine.”

H.H. also sent her photos of himself brandishing pistols and assault rifles and the pair discussed “missions” he had been carrying out in northern Gaza, an apparent euphemism for terror operations.

Washburn said she was “proud” to have earned the terrorist’s trust, and he told her, “Catherine, you really were fighting alongside me, my love.”

After H.H. said he had seen a deadly ambush against Israeli troops, Washburn said, “I feel excited every time I see news of the killing of an occupation soldier.”

In other messages, she asked him to “approve” a shirt she had designed showing terror group logos. She sold the shirts as part of her fundraising, the complaint said. Washburn also offered to send the terrorist topographical maps that he could use to target Israelis.

Some of the conversations took place in Arabic, and the messages appeared to use codewords, such as substituting “work” for “combat,” and using green heart emojis to refer to Hamas and black hearts for PIJ.

After she found out about his terrorist affiliation, Washburn posted an image of the alleged terrorist on Facebook, seeking donations to “help him support his family of 9.” She also sent a link to the donation page around on WhatsApp, the complaint said.

The donations were raised through the Australia-based platform Chuffed, which says it is a fundraising platform for “the world’s social justice movements.” Chuffed did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washburn opened a bank account for the donations, which received 1,302 contributions. Washburn used the funds to buy cryptocurrency on Coinbase and transferred the funds to a crypto wallet belonging to H.H., the complaint said.

Between October 2025 and April 2026, Washburn made 80 cryptocurrency transfers to H.H. amounting to $30,116.

She joked about being imprisoned, saying, “Based on my passed [sic.] fundraising and posting Im [sic.] gonna get put away for a few life times,” followed by a laughing emoji. The message indicated she knew the funds were for PIJ and were therefore illegal, the investigator said.

The pair’s discussions of ammunition, weapons and H.H.’s “missions” also indicated her intent to support terrorist activities, the complaint said.

“Your assistance to us here in Gaza is fighting in the path of Allah,” H.H. told her, to which she said, “Allah willing. This battle is a sacred battle.”

She also said she had been in touch with other terrorists from Hamas.

Funding PIJ is illegal in the US because the group is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization.

It wasn’t clear how Washburn had first connected with the alleged terrorist, although she told him that she had previously seen videos on his Instagram account, which has 319,000 followers. His Facebook page has 565,000 followers.

On social media, H.H. has shared fundraisers purportedly for his family, published videos about hardships in Gaza such as food shortages, and posted in support of the activist flotillas meant to break Israel’s blockade. His social media does not give any indication that he is a combatant.

The alleged terrorist told Washburn that he used social media to “portray myself as a peaceful individual, rather than a resistance fighter,” and that he had deleted images of himself invading Israel to evade being caught at checkpoints.

Washburn’s Instagram account links to 10 fundraisers that she said were meant to help Palestinian families in Gaza.

“Donating directly to families in Gaza saves lives,” her account’s biography says.

Washburn’s Facebook account identified her as a former stay-at-home mother. She had raised funds for causes such as dog shelters before the start of the Gaza war.

She first posted about Gaza in the weeks after the October 2023 attack, followed up with posts sharing PIJ and Hezbollah videos, and had participated in anti-Israel street protests in Rochester.

At least one other activist, an Irish protester who joined a Gaza flotilla and has more than 200,000 followers on social media, shared H.H.’s fundraiser. He also appeared on the account of a Gaza influencer with 1.3 million followers.

Washburn was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated terror group and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The allegations against Washburn mirrored another case filed by federal authorities in California last month in which the suspect allegedly raised funds, purportedly for humanitarian purposes, but instead directed the money to Hamas or to his own personal expenses.

The schemes appeared similar to the Holy Land Foundation, a group prosecuted in the US in the 2000s for soliciting charitable donations that were diverted to Hamas. The so-called Holy Land Five, who were imprisoned, remain popular figures in the anti-Zionist movement.

Another case announced in a New York court in May, against an alleged Iranian operative, also illustrated how terror groups have used cryptocurrency to facilitate terrorism in the US, Canada and Europe.

US federal authorities have also charged anti-Zionist activists with terror-related offenses in Michigan and California in the past year.

A right-wing anti-Israel group was charged with plotting an attack on a White House event last month.