In February, Molloy converted to Shiite Islam and subsequently traveled to Lebanon in August in order to fulfill his desire 'to kill Jews'. According to an affidavit, he was in contact with various individuals who aimed to assist him in his efforts to join Hezbollah.

Molloy faced obstacles in his recruitment attempt, primarily due to his lack of proficiency in Arabic and the fact that Hezbollah was not actively recruiting foreigners during the ongoing conflict with Israel, particularly after intelligence failures, including the September pager bomb attacks.