Federal charges filed against Brownsburg teen with ISIL connections
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — An 18-year old Brownsburg man has been arrested after being accused of attempting to join and recruit for the Islamic State.
The FBI and the Brownsburg Police Department searched an apartment at Brownsburg Pointe Apartments near North Green Street and 700 North in connection to the case.
BPD said it is working on the joint investigation.
The FBI had declined to specify the nature of the investigation, saying:
The FBI is conducting investigative activity in Brownsburg, Indiana, today however the nature of the activity can’t be disclosed at this time.
However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has provided WISH-TV with a criminal complaint against Akram Musleh, stating that he provided material support and resources to ISIL.
Federal documents state that Musleh repeatedly tried to purchase flights overseas, expressed his interest to be in an ISIL propaganda video and purchases an ISIL flag.
Court documents indicate that Musleh first came on investigators radars back in 2013 when he posted videos of Anwar Al-Alwaki to YouTube. FBI officials met with Musleh and school officials at Brownsburg High School on Dec. 11, 2013 to dissuade him from “engaging in radical extremism.”
Nine months later, Musleh purchased an ISIL flag online and appears in a photograph with it.
In April of 2015, the Brownsburg Police Department responded to Williams Park, where it had been alleged that people were asking kids at the park if they wanted to join Daesh. The FBI determined that Musleh was one of those people.
Court documents indicate that Musleh may have had a fiancee in Sweden that is an ISIL sympathizer.
On June 23, Musleh attempted to travel to Istanbul. Customs and Border Protection interviewed Musleh and did not let him travel based on his current passport due to Turkey requiring a minimum of six months validity on passports. The FBI searched his baggage and electronic devices and found a journal with quotes from individuals with known terrorist times, including Osama bin Laden.
On May 9, an FBI agent observed Musleh shopping for pressure cookers at the Wal-Mart in Brownsburg. Musleh did not make a purchase.
Electronic conversations indicate Musleh intended to leave the U.S. to join ISIL.
Musleh had purchased a one-way ticket Morocco to John F. Kennedy airport in New York for July 21.
Musleh was arrested by the FBI Tuesday at a Greyhound bus station in Indianapolis.
“The radicalization of American citizens by terrorist organizations like ISIL is a threat to our safety here and abroad,” said United States Attorney Josh Minkler. “I am committed to using the full authority of the United States Attorney’s Office to identify, investigate and prosecute those that materially support terrorism. I would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Brownsburg Police Department and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for working with us during this investigation.
Musleh fcould face up to 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised released and a $250,000 fine if he is convicted.
