Mohamad Khweis, an American who went to fight with the Islamic State (ISIS), is about to begin his trial in Alexandria, Va., for providing material support to a terrorist organization.
The 27-year-old was captured by Kurdish forces in March 2016 and was originally believed to be a suicide bomber, the Associated Press reports. He approached Kurdish forces with cash, canned fish, and his Virginia drivers license.
Khweis had traveled to Europe in 2015 and with help eventually made his way to the ISIS capital of Raqqa, Syria. Khweis was sent to Mosul, Iraq, and spent three months with ISIS. His lawyers claim that he tried to escape from the terrorist group multiple times.
Khweis' trial began on Tuesday in federal court outside of Washington, D.C. He grew up in Fairfax County, Va., and became a Metro bus driver in the region. Khweis is now the second Metro employee to have been arrested for ties to ISIS.
