"The defendant, Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 19, a US citizen, was charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in a single-count indictment returned late yesterday," the DOJ said in a statement.
Khan was arrested in October at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport by the state's FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force before trying to fly to Istanbul, Turkey.
Although Khan's court date has yet to be scheduled and he has not been found guilty, attempting to provide material support a foreign terrorist organization holds a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison along with a $250,000 fine.
Over 15,000 foreign fighters from over 80 countries have traveled to the region to join the militant group, according to the United Nations. While the CIA estimates that the group has about 30,000 fighters.
Government forces from Syria and Iraq, a US-led coalition, as well as the region's own native Kurdish fighters have all played a role in fighting back against IS.
The United States has led its own 60-nation coalition air campaign on IS strongholds since August in Iraq and since September in Syria, despite receiving no explicit permission from Syrian authorities.
