Manassas Teen Pleads Guilty To Aiding Islamic State

Image: Patch

A former student at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to aiding a terrorist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Ali Shukri Amin, 17, admitted to using a Twitter account “to provide advice and encouragement to ISIL and its supporters,” according to a statement Thursday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Alexandria.

Using the Twitter handle @Amreekiwitness, the Manassas teen gave directions on using Bitcoin, a virtual currency, to mask donations to ISIL, and advice to ISIL supporters seeking to travel to Syria to fight with the terrorist group, the attorney’s office said.

In addition, Amin admitted that he facilitated travel for Reza Niknejad, an 18-year-old Prince William County resident who went to Syria in January to join ISIL. Niknejad was charged Wednesday in the federal court in Alexandria with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to provide material support to ISIL, and conspiring to kill and injure people abroad, the attorney’s office said.

“This case is particularly chilling in that our vulnerable young people have been targeted for participation in terrorism,” said Stephen Hudson, chief of the Prince William County Police Department, who spoke at a Thursday morning news conference at Alexandria’s federal courthouse following Amin’s hearing.

“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that those who use social media as a tool to provide support and resources to ISIL will be identified and prosecuted with no less vigilance than those who travel to take up arms with ISIL,” said Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in the statement.

“The Department of Justice will continue to pursue those that travel to fight against the United States and our allies, as well as those individuals that recruit others on behalf of ISIL in the homeland, and prosecute them to the full extent of the law,” he said.

Amin faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 28 by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton.

After the hearing, Boente spoke at the news conference with Hudson, the Prince William police chief, and Andrew McCabe, assistant director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

“We support the investigation and prosecution of persons who pose a threat to our county and our nation,” Hudson said in the U.S. attorney’s statement. “It is incumbent upon all of us to pay attention and report suspicious activity to law enforcement.

“Social media has many helpful applications; however, it can be corrupted and used for unlawful purposes,” he said. “As parents, we need to do our best to monitor our children’s online activity.”

Statement from Prince William School System

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Prince William County Public Schools said that while the case involves a former Osbourn Park High School student, “it does not represent this school or this community.”

Amin is no longer attending classes at Osbourn Park, the school system said. The school’s principal and administrators “were aware that authorities were investigating a student’s activities, but were never advised of any threat or danger to our students, staff, or schools.

“We had enough confidence in school safety that there was no need for public communication that could interfere with the law enforcement efforts. We have, and will continue to cooperate with authorities to ensure safety all times,” the statement added.

Confidentially rules bar school officials from discussing Amin’s case, the statement said. “It is easy to get caught up in hype and rumors surrounding this kind of story. We hope people will see past all that to the continued safety and quality of our schools and our community.

“We’ll try to make some good come out of this situation by using the case to learn about and help students understand the risks of getting involved with the extreme speech and causes they see on social media,” the school system said.