Man who ‘wanted to kill in the name of ISIS’ sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison
A 23-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to federal prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Investigators said Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, a teen at the time, attempted to join and support ISIS from August 2017 until his arrest in December 2017. He pleaded guilty on July 8, 2019.
U.S. District Judge U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered Damlarkaya to serve 165 months in federal prison, which will be immediately followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
In addition to wanting to join ISIS, investigators said Damlarkaya also provided information to ISIS supporters about the use of machetes, homemade construction of an automatic weapon, and how to build and use explosive materials.
“Damlarkaya wanted to kill in the name of ISIS,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said. “He slept with a machete by his bed, ready to use on law enforcement, provided instructions on how to make a bomb to ISIS supporters, and prepared to travel overseas and become a martyr for our enemies. Today’s sentence ensures that Damlarkaya will spend many many years away from machetes and explosives, making everyone in the Southern District of Texas a lot safer.”
As part of his plans to join ISIS overseas, which the DOJ said started in approximately early August 2017, Damlarkaya reportedly had numerous conversations online with many individuals he believed to be fellow ISIS supporters. During these discussions, investigators said he described his intentions to travel overseas to fight for ISIS in Syria or Afghanistan. Damlarkaya said that if he was unsuccessful in joining ISIS overseas, he would conduct an on attack on non-Muslims in the United States and that it was his “dream” to be a martyr, according to Hamdani.
“Preventing a terrorist attack remains the FBI’s number one priority, but the threat of terrorism has morphed significantly from the sophisticated, externally directed plot to the individual, inspired attack,” said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI Houston Field Office. “Fortunately, for us and the public, Damlarkaya was stopped before he was able to carry out his terrorism plan. He dreamed of being a martyr. The reality is that he’s now a federal prisoner and will be one for years to come. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to gather and share information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to protect our communities.”
Authorities said Damalarkaya provided information to other ISIS supporters on at least two separate occasions about ways to manufacture a bomb. According to investigators, he described how to make explosives formula using triacetone triperoxide and cautioned the others to “take safety seriously while you make this” to be “useful until you can strike.”
Damlarkaya reportedly illustrated to ISIS supporters ways to construct an automatic weapon, the DOJ said. He claimed he could buy a “GIANT machete for $15″ and stated “A lot of us are poor… or we don’t have experience. So not all of us can get a gun or make explosives, but we can afford to buy a $15 knife.” Officials said he claimed he slept with a machete under his pillow that was ready to use if law enforcement raided his house.
Agents said when they arrested Damlarkaya, they executed a search warrant at his residence and found a machete by his bed.
Damlarkaya has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Source » click2houston
