Pennsylvania Man Charged With Providing Material Support to Islamic State

Mark 13:13 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

A 19-year-old Pennsylvania man was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, prosecutors announced on Thursday afternoon.

Jalil Ibn Ameer Aziz, of Harrisburg, is accused of using at least 57 different Twitter accounts for a variety of pro-Islamic State purposes, including advocating violence against the United States and spreading propaganda, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors allege that Aziz posted the names and addresses of 100 members of the United States military and calls for violence against them. Aziz is also accused of helping people who were looking to travel overseas to join Islamic State fighters, in once case allegedly acting as an intermediary between someone in Turkey and “several well-known” Islamic State members. Prosecutors allege that Aziz shared maps and telephone numbers between the ISIS supporters.

Prosecutors announced they searched a backpack in Aziz’s closet and discovered “five loaded M4-style high-capacity magazines,” as well as a modified kitchen knife and a balaclava mask.

“The charges in this case focus on Aziz’s efforts to assist persons seeking to travel to and fight for the Islamic State,” U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith said in a news release announcing the charges.

Aziz was scheduled to appear in court later Thursday.

In a separate case, the Department of Justice also said Thursday that an upstate New York man pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State.

Mufid A. Elfgeeh, of Rochester, allegedly recruited two people in 2013 and 2014 and tried to send them to Syria to join ISIS. However, prosecutors said those recruits were cooperating with the FBI. Elgeeh was also accused of sending $600 to someone in Yemen to help them join ISIS.

Elgeeh was arrested in May 2014, making him one of the first Islamic State recruiters arrested in the United States, U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said in a news release. The 31-year-old Elgeeh faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

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