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Press Release

Columbus Man Indicted on Two Counts of Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIL

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment alleging that Aaron Travis Daniels, 20, aka Harun Muhammad, aka Abu Yusef of Columbus provided and attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

 

U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman of the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and agencies participating in the Southern Ohio Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) announced the indictment returned today.

 

Count one of the indictment alleges that Daniels provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization by sending $250 in January 2016 to an ISIL operative. Count two alleges that Daniels attempted to provide material support and resources, himself, as personnel to ISIL. JTTF agents arrested Daniels on November 7 as he attempted to leave Columbus with an alleged eventual destination of Libya to join ISIL.

 

If convicted, Daniels faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each count. Congress prescribes the maximum potential sentences and it is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. An indictment merely contains allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Daniels has been in custody since his arrest. Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. will preside over the case.

 

The Southern Ohio JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Columbus Division of Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, The Ohio State University Police Department, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the John Glenn International Airport Police Department, Westerville Police Department and Columbus Division of Fire.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica W. Knight, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gibson with Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office and Trial Attorneys Michael Dittoe and Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Updated November 10, 2016

Topics
Counterterrorism
National Security