3 Florida Men Get Prison For Conspiring To Support ISIS

MIAMI, FL — A Florida man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and two others were given lesser prison terms Wednesday for conspiring to provide "material support" to ISIS. Prosecutors said Gregory Hubbard, Dayne Antani Christian and Darren Arness Jackson each honed their shooting skills and provided support for the terror organization. One of the men was arrested as he was preparing to depart Miami International Airport for Syria, where he planned to become an ISIS fighter.

The 54-year-old Hubbard, also known as Jibreel, of West Palm Beach was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg to 12 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

His co-defendants — Christian, 33, of Lake Park, who is also known as Shakur, and Jackson, 53 of West Palm Beach, who is also known as Daoud — both cooperated with the government and received prison sentences of eight and four years respectively. In addition, they were sentenced to five years of supervised release.

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“Individuals seeking to travel to take up arms with ISIS pose a threat to the security of all nations,” asserted U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg in Miami. “As demonstrated today, this threat will be met with swift and certain justice."

The sentence was announced by Greenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“Gregory Hubbard and his co-conspirators are a great example why the FBI’s number one priority is counterterrorism,” added the FBI's Lasky. "This is not a scenario where law enforcement can afford to wait and see what happens next. The FBI and our Joint Terrorism Task Force, along with many law enforcement partners, diligently investigated and disrupted this threat."

Hubbard was arrested in July of 2016 after being driven to Miami International by Jackson for a flight to Berlin.

"From Berlin, Hubbard intended to travel to Syria to join ISIS," according to federal prosecutors. "At various times during the conspiracy — which ran from approximately July 2015 until Hubbard’s arrest — Hubbard and his co-defendants, Christian and Jackson, talked about their support for ISIS and jihad, including acts of terrorism committed by and attributed to ISIS and its supporters."

Prosecutors said the three Palm Beach County men and others practiced shooting weapons "multiple times" in preparation for Hubbard's trip to Syria.

Christian and Jackson provided "significant cooperation" to government investigators and received sentences of eight and four years respectively.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the special task force with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Transportation Security Administration; Miami International Airport Police Department; Boca Raton Police Department; Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office; West Palm Beach Police Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

All three men were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen E. Gilbert and Edward C. Nucci of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Larry Schneider of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

An Islamic State sign is seen in the northwestern Iraq town of Ba'aj in June of 2017 not far from the Iraq-Syria border. Islamic State militants were pushed into Syria from the northwestern Iraq border strip (Martyn Aim/Getty Images).