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Mississippi Man Sentenced to Prison After Trying to Join ISIS

Muhammad Dakhlalla, right, and Jaelyn Young / Screenshot from YouTube
August 24, 2016

A federal judge sentenced a Mississippi man to eight years in prison on terrorism charges after he attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria with his fiancé during a trip the couple disguised as their honeymoon.

Muhammad Dakhlalla pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to provide material support and resources to the terrorist group and faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Dakhlalla’s fiancé, Jaelyn Young, was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in prison and mandatory mental health treatment.

Prosecutors said Young converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University and persuaded Dakhlalla to join ISIS with her. Still, prosecutors argued that Dakhlalla agreed to the plan.

The couple was arrested before boarding a flight from Columbus, Mississippi headed to Istanbul in August 2015, with tickets purchased on Young’s mother’s credit card without authorization. The two planned to say they were traveling to Syria on their honeymoon.

Authorities said the couple contacted undercover federal agents in May posing as ISIS contacts in an attempt to seek assistance traveling to Syria, the Associated Press reported.

"Young continually asked Dakhlalla when they were going to join [the Islamic State group] and began to express hatred for the U.S. government and to express support for the implementation of Sharia [sic] law in the United States," prosecutors wrote.

Dakhlalla paid $340 in July to expedite passport processing for the couple. The pair left letters to their families writing that they would never return.

Dakhlalla posted online that he wanted to become a soldier, writing, "I am willing to fight. I want to be taught what it really means to have that heart in battle!" according to court papers.

The couple had been jailed in Oxford, Mississippi since their arrests.

Earlier this month, a North Carolina man was arrested on charges that he attempted to recruit terrorists to launch attacks in the U.S. on behalf of ISIS, according to the Justice Department.

Erick Jamal Hendricks had planned to create a terror cell where attackers would be housed and trained to target Americans, including military personnel, on "kill lists" issued by ISIS, court records said. He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.