Man from Kentucky who traveled to Syria to join ISIS appears in federal court to face multiple terrorism charges
A Kentucky man accused of travelling to Syria to join an Islamic State training camp has been charged in a US federal court after being deported back to the United States, the Justice Department said.
The federal court unsealed an indictment on Monday charging Mirsad Hariz Adem Ramic, a dual US-Bosnian citizen, with providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
The defendant was also charged with receiving military-type training from ISIS, the DOJ said.
Court documents claim Ramic, 31, of Bowling Green, Kentucky and two co-conspirators each left the United States for Istanbul, Turkey in order to support the Islamic State in 2014.
All three then purchased tickets to fly to the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the border with Syria. From there, it is alleged they crossed the border to join the Islamic State.
After joining, Ramic allegedly attended an Islamic State training camp where he received weapons and physical training and fired an AK-47, the DOJ said.
The FBI obtained photos of Ramic in Islamic State territory which depict him wearing camouflage clothing and standing in front of a pickup truck outfitted with an anti-aircraft gun and the Islamic State flag, the Justice Department added.
After joining the militant group, Ramic and his co-conspirators remained in contact with each other and discussed, among other things, Ramic’s presence in Raqqa, Syria, and his use of an anti-aircraft weapon to shoot at planes, according to the DOJ.
It was also reported one of the co-conspirators had twice emailed Western Kentucky University to say Ramic had traveled to Syria and joined the Islamic State group and now wanted its fighters to ‘conquer’ the US.
He had since been incarcerated in Turkey and was deported to the United States. He arrived Thursday evening and made his initial appearance in court on Monday.
He is charged with providing material support and conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization. He is also charged with receiving military training from the group.
If convicted of the charged offenses, Ramic faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison, a fine of $750,000 and term of supervised release up to life, the Justice Department said.
The FBI was investigating the case.
Source: Daily Mail
