Man from Auburn gets federal prison time for lying to FBI about disseminating Islamic State videos

An Auburn, Alabama, man who lied to the FBI about distributing terrorist propaganda and tried to go to Syria to join ISIS has been sentenced to federal prison.

Authorities announced Monday that 26-year-old Nayef Amjad Qashou is to serve 57 months in prison for making false statements to federal agents during a 2018 terrorism probe.

Authorities said the FBI started monitoring Qashou after getting tips that his “erratic behavior” indicated he might be interested in joining the terrorist group ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Agents suspecting Qashou was sharing propaganda videos questioned him on Sept. 26, 2018, when the suspect acknowledged compiling and distributing “educational” videos related to Islam, prosecutors said in a news release.

Qashou told investigators he compiled 37 videos and “misrepresented the nature and content of the videos,” the release said.

The agents later discovered Qashou distributed 115 ISIS propaganda videos.

“Qashou admitted he knowingly lied about the number and content of the videos in order to protect individuals depicted in them and to impede the investigation into his actions,” said the news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Montgomery. “It was also revealed during the sentencing hearing that Qashou had previously traveled to Jordan and attempted to cross into Syria to join ISIS, but he was prevented from doing so by Jordanian officials.”

After serving his sentence, Qashou will get mental health treatment as federal probation officers monitor his computer and electronic device usage during three years of supervised release, the feds said.

Source: Ledger Enquirer