Augusta, Georgia Man Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Provide Material Support To Terrorists

AUGUSTA, GA – Leon Nathan Davis, 37, from Augusta, Georgia, pled guilty earlier today in federal court before United States District Judge J. Randal Hall to an Information charging him with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  

According to the testimony presented in Court during the guilty plea proceeding, an FBI-led team investigated for over a year Davis’ attempts to join an overseas designated foreign terrorist organization.  Davis was arrested at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport in October 2014 on a parole violation, after he had purchased a ticket to fly to Turkey and then traveled from Augusta to the Atlanta Airport.  Davis has been in custody since his October 2014 arrest.

Providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing hearing will be conducted after the United States Probation Office conducts a presentence investigation.

U.S. Attorney Tarver commended the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force, the ATF, and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles for their work on this case.  Mr. Tarver also expressed his gratitude to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service and the Atlanta Police Department for their contributions to the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by attorneys with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.