A Dearborn resident was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison after having been convicted at trial earlier this year on charges of providing and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and attending an ISIS training camp.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison of the Eastern District of Michigan, and James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan, office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 32, of Dearborn, Michigan, was sentenced by United States District Judge David M. Lawson. Musaibli was convicted after a 9-day trial conducted in Detroit in January 2023.
Musaibli, a natural-born U.S. citizen, was convicted on charges of providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, and attending an ISIS training camp.
Evidence presented during the trial established that Musaibli, born in Detroit, began looking into ISIS while in Michigan in 2015. He then traveled to Yemen in April 2015 and continued to research ISIS—including downloading ISIS propaganda and an ISIS book on how to get into Syria. From Yemen, he traveled to Syria in the fall of 2015, where he attended an ISIS-run religious training camp before undergoing ISIS military training where he learned to shoot, carry, and otherwise handle an AK-47 assault rifle. Upon graduation from the ISIS military training camp, Musaibli swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader. Musaibli remained with ISIS for over two and a half years. During that time, Musaibli fought for ISIS against the United States and its allies, where he was wounded in battle. Musaibli was eventually apprehended by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2018, turned over to the FBI, and flown back to the United States to face terrorism charges.
“This defendant chose to join a brutal, foreign terrorist organization and then to fight against the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “For his betrayal of our nation and his fellow citizens, he is deserving of a long sentence.”
“This case is a reminder of the danger posed by those who travel overseas to join forces with terrorist groups,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The sentence imposed on Mr. Musaibli is a clear reminder to others of the consequences of providing material support to ISIS or any foreign terrorist organization.”
This case was investigated by FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of State – Diplomatic Security, US Customs and Border Protection, Michigan State Police, and the Hamtramck Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hank Moon and Michael Martin of the Eastern District of Michigan with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
