A 32-year-old New York man who was arrested as he was boarding an airplane at John F. Kennedy International Airport in order to join ISIS in June 2017 pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court Wednesday to providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and one count of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS.
Adam Raishani, of the Bronx, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, and will be sentenced on March 8, 2019.
Between January and June 2017, Raishani made plans to travel to Syria to join ISIS, and confided his plans to a confidential law enforcement source. During those meetings, Raishani told the source and an undercover officer that, back in 2015, he helped an ISIS supporter travel from JFK Airport to Istanbul in 2015, and that he was also planning to travel abroad to join the terrorist organization.
“During those meetings, Raishani also downloaded and viewed violent ISIS propaganda videos, and indicated his desire to wage jihad and his belief that the Quran can be read to justify the violence, including beheadings, engaged in by ISIS,” according to a Justice Department release.
ICYMI: Uzbek Found Guilty in Denver Court of Supporting Terror Group in Home Country
Raishani, who was arrested on June 21, 2017, planned to join ISIS at the end of Ramadan, which concludes in the third week of June. He told the informant that he was planning to meet an ISIS member in Turkey (via Portugal), who would help him join the terrorist organization upon his arrival in Syria.
Last Month: Algerian Terrorist Who Coordinated U.S. Jihadists Sentenced to 15 Years Behind Bars