Judge sentences man to more than 15 years in jail for providing support to ISIS

Amer Sinan Alhaggagi was recently sentenced to 188 months in jail for providing support to ISIS and identity theft charges. 

“Alhaggagi wanted to carry out deadly terrorist attacks in the United States in the name of ISIS,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers said.  “Today’s sentencing shows the dedication of the National Security Division and our partners to hold accountable those who seek to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations and to conduct violence on their behalf.  I commend the work of the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this case.”

The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Charles Breyer, senior U.S. district judge.

“The highest priority of our counter-terrorism efforts is to prevent acts of violence before they occur,” United States Attorney David Anderson for the Northern District of California said.  “Amer Alhaggagi hoped and intended to carry out acts of great cruelty in order to sow terror in our community.  Through the combined efforts of local and federal law enforcement, Alhaggagi was identified, apprehended, and prosecuted before he was able to commit the violence he schemed to commit.  This prosecution stands as an example of how homegrown extremists who seek to sow fear and panic into our communities can be stopped when law enforcement agencies work together.”

Alhaggagi, 23, is from Oakland, Calif. He pleaded guilty to the charges on July 18, 2018, admitting he attempted to provide services and personnel to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

“Today is a tragedy for the Alhaggagi family and our community as we have lost yet another young person to the allure of extremist ideology focused on hatred and violence,” John Bennett, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office, said. “This sentence serves as a reminder of how persistent and pervasive online radicalization has become and this should be a precautionary example for individuals who may be tempted by terrorist propaganda. The FBI, through our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, remains dedicated to protecting the United States against any form of terrorism and ensuring the safety of our community.”

Alhaggagi admitted that he created Twitter accounts and Facebook accounts along with the Gmail accounts that were necessary to authenticate them for individuals he believed were ISIS supporters. Alhaggagi admitted that he possessed a device used to make counterfeit credit cards, according to officials,

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Special Prosecutions and National Security Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, the Berkeley Police Department, and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force including, the Oakland Police Department.