- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

US Citizen From Wisconsin Arrested for Attempting to Join ISIL

© REUTERS / StringerFighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - Sputnik International
Subscribe
34-year old Joshua Ray Van Haften, US citizen from Wisconsin, was arrested for trying to join the Islamic State.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A man from the US state of Wisconsin was arrested after traveling back from Turkey for allegedly attempting to join the Islamic State (IS), the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement on Thursday.

“Joshua Ray Van Haften, 34, of Madison, Wisconsin, has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources, namely himself as personnel, to a foreign terrorist organization,” the DOJ statement read.

“Van Haften intended to travel into Iraq or Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).”

Haften was arrested at the Chicago O’Hare Airport in Chicago on Wednesday evening after traveling back from Turkey.

On Thursday, the alleged IS supporter made his first appearance at a US District Court in Wisconsin, the DOJ said.

Terror group arrests - Sputnik International
US Soldier Indicted For Supporting ISIL - US Justice Department
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate, arrest, and vigorously prosecute all extremists who choose to aid ISIL, or any other terrorist organization, and to stop them before they harm the United States or our allies,” US Attorney John Vaudreuil said in the DOJ statement.

Haften’s arrest comes a little over a week after a woman from Pennsylvania was also arrested for trying to join the IS.

Attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization in the United States holds a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to the US National Counterterrorism Center, over 20,000 foreigners from 90 countries are suspected to have joined the IS to fight for the spread of Islamic extremist ideology and establish a caliphate in the territories under its control in Syria and Iraq.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала