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Texas man turned wannabe ISIS fighter pleads guilty to terror charges
By Frank Miles
Published September 02, 2020
A 23-year-old North Texas man could face up to 20 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to terror charges for supporting ISIS, federal prosecutors said.
Omer Kuzu, who is an American citizen, pleaded guilty in federal court in Dallas to conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
“This defendant, an American citizen radicalized on American soil, pledged allegiance to a brutal terrorist group and traveled halfway across the world to enact its agenda,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox for the Northern District of Texas. “The United States must do everything we can to prevent and deter this type of radicalization and prioritize prosecution of those that support the terroristic agenda of ISIS. I am gratified Mr. Kuzu faced justice in an American court.”
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The Plano man said in plea papers that he and his brother left home in 2014 for Syria, where he spent five years providing communications support for front-line Islamic State fighters and working in the Caliphate’s technology center.
Kuzu was captured by Syrian forces in early 2019, turned over to the FBI and returned to Texas to face charges.
“Preventing terrorism remains the FBI’s top mission priority. The defendant intentionally left the United States to join, train with, and fight on behalf of ISIS. The North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force worked closely with our domestic and foreign partners to ensure the threat he posed was mitigated,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “We remain vigilant in our effort to prevent terrorism as well as hold terrorists, and those who provide support to terrorist organizations, accountable for their actions.”
He is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 22.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-man-23-wannabe-isis-guilty-terror-charges