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Virginia teen pleads guilty to providing support to Isis Virginia teenager pleads guilty over soliciting bitcoin funds to aid Isis
(35 minutes later)
A teen in Virginia has pleaded guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist group. A tech-savvy US teenager has pleaded guilty to using social media to aid the Islamic State group, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, the Justice Department said.
Seventeen-year-old Ali Shukri Amin entered the plea on Thursday in federal court, appearing in a blue jump suit. He faces up to 15 years in prison. Ali Shukri Amin, 17, a resident of Virginia, admitted to providing advice and encouragement to Isis and its supporters, US prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the crime involved helping another person travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group. Lawyer Joseph Flood says the crime consisted primarily of Amin expressing his views about the conflict in Syria. Before his arrest, Amin was an honor student Osbourn Park high school in Manassas. Under the Twitter handle @Amreekiwitness, the youth provided Isis supporters instruction on using the virtual currency bitcoin to conceal financial donations.
Juveniles rarely face charges in the federal system, and the case remained under seal for several months while prosecutors navigated the process to have the charges moved into adult court. The teenager also offered guidance to Isis supporters seeking to travel to Syria to fight with the radical Islamist group.
“Around the nation, we are seeing Isil use social media to reach out from the other side of the world,” said John Carlin, US assistant attorney for national security, using the acronym most frequently employed by Washington officials when referring to Isis.
“Their messages are reaching America in an attempt to radicalize, recruit and incite our youth and others to support Isil’s violent causes,” he said.
The Justice Department said Amin also facilitated travel for another young Isis recruit, Reza Niknejad, 18, who traveled to Syria to join the group in January.
Niknejad was charged on Wednesday in federal court in Virginia with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to provide material support to Isis and conspiring to kill and injure people abroad.
Carlin, in a statement, issued a warning to parents to closely monitor their kids’ online interactions.
“This case serves as a wake-up call that Isil’s propaganda and recruitment materials are in your communities and being viewed by your youth,” the federal prosecutor said.
“This challenge requires parental and community awareness and action to confront and deter this threat wherever it surfaces,” he said.