A man from Connecticut, in the US, has been charged with trying to travel to Syria to support ISIS, the US Department of Justice said on Monday.
Ahmad Elshazly, 22, of West Haven, Connecticut, was arrested on Sunday before appearing on Monday in front of US Magistrate Judge Robert Spector in New Haven, Connecticut. He was ordered to be detained.
Mr Elshazly was arrested after he arrived in Stonington, Connecticut, where he expected to board a boat to begin his trip to Syria. He could face up to 20 years in jail if proven guilty.
The US citizen is said to have told others from September 2018, in person and through messaging applications, that he wanted to travel to Syria and and fight for ISIS.
In February, Mr Elshazly said he had saved about $1,000 to travel to Jordan on his way to Syria.
Court documents say that in October, during a meeting with other people at a public venue, he made several statements supporting ISIS.
"They say war has started and we are marching to it," Mr Elshazly was claimed to have said. "But all doors are closed, closed.
"I am talking to myself now, asking myself, 'How do I get there? How can I help Muslims? How can I do anything?'
“God willing. May this country burn the same way they burned Muslims. May they burn in fire at the end.”
When he was asked to lower his voice, Mr Elshazly said: “I am not scared.”
At the same meeting, he allegedly said: “I want to go to the caliphate and fight there. I can kill maybe like 100 kaffir. I can kill them. A hundred kaffirs.
"If I do something here how many kaffirs could I kill? One, two, three and then I get shot and I die. It is more benefiting if I go there. I could kill more and will get more faithful rewards.”
Court documents say that in December, Mr Elshazly sent another person a series of YouTube videos explaining how various high-powered firearms and other weaponry work.
It is alleged that, because he was concerned about being stopped by law enforcement at an airport, he arranged to travel by ship to Turkey.
Mr Elshazly gave another person $500 that he believed would be used to pay for a part of his trip.
“As alleged in the complaint, Elshazly was bent on supporting ISIS,” said US assistant attorney general for national security, John Demers.
"Worried that his efforts here would be too small and that he would be stopped at the airport, he planned to travel overseas aboard a container ship to join and fight for ISIS."
