Hephzibah woman pleads guilty in terrorist conspiracy

A Hephzibah woman accused of aiding the Islamic State’s hacking groups while still in high school pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New York.

Kim Anh Vo, 20, pleaded guilty June 26 to conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists, a crime punishable by up to 20 years. An Oct. 17 sentencing date has been set.

Vo has been held in custody since her March 12 arrest at her family’s home. The 2017 Hephzibah High School graduate had no criminal history. According to her parents she never expressed an interest in Islam. Vo had wanted to work in cyber security for the FBI, according to her father.

Nearly two years before her arrest, Vo contacted the FBI in July 2017 and in August 2018 and voluntarily gave recorded interviews, according to earlier reports in The Augusta Chronicle.

The indictment returned March 27 in New York accused Vo of joining an online group whose members pledge allegiance to ISIS and committed themselves to carrying out online attacks and cyber intrusions against Americans. The indictment accused Vo of recruiting others in the winter of 2017.

According to the indictment, other unidentified co-conspirators posted a link to a video threatening a non-profit organization in New York, and a video announcing the upcoming release of a “kill list” with the names of more than 8,000 people.

Source: August Chronicle