A 22-year-old Raleigh man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, according to federal authorities. Akba Jihad Jordan, 22, of Raleigh, North Carolina, entered the guilty plea before United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones on [date].
Jordan and his co-defendant, 21-year-old Avin Marsalis Brown, were arrested on March 19, 2014, and initially charged in a criminal complaint. A federal grand jury later returned an indictment charging Jordan and Brown with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
“This investigation is a sober reminder that we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prosecute extremists who conspire to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations,” said United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker.
Akba Jordan turned his back on his own country and was willing to fight side by side with terrorist groups in Yemen and Syria who wish to do us harm,” said John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina. “American citizens who offer support to terrorist organizations pose a grave threat to our national security and will face serious consequences for their actions.”
According to court documents, Brown initiated contact online with an undercover FBI employee and requested assistance in traveling overseas for “fisabilillah” – a phrase commonly utilized by Islamic Extremists to refer to joining extremist groups in violence overseas. Both Brown and Jordan engaged in numerous discussions with an FBI confidential source in which they expressed a desire to travel overseas to join certain groups in fighting the “kuffar” (non-Muslims) and “munafiq” (Muslims considered to be hypocrites), primarily in either Syria or Yemen. These groups included al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS), and jabhat al-Nusrah (JAN).
Jordan discussed with Brown the weapons he had in his possession, including an AK-47, and described how he would not hesitate to use them. The affidavit describes a meeting at Jordan’s apartment on Dec. 30, 2013, during which Jordan showed Brown how to break down the AK-47. A search warrant executed at Jordan’s apartment on March 19, 2014, recovered the AK-47 and several other weapons.
Jordan admitted that he had made an appointment to obtain a passport so that he could go to Syria and fight. His co-defendant, Avin Marsalis Brown, pleaded guilty to the indictment on August 12, 2014, and his sentencing is currently set for November 6, 2014. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division, Resident Agency Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which consists of the FBI, DHS-H.S.I., Raleigh Police Department, Durham Police Department, Cary Police Department, NC State Bureau of Investigation, and the NC State Highway Patrol.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Kellhofer and Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division. News releases are available on the U.S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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