Thursday, September 1, 2016
By Rachel Weiner
Federal prosecutors in Virginia allege that these seven men have aided the Islamic State. Here are brief descriptions of each case.
Joseph Hassan Farrokh
Woodbridge, Va.
Farrokh, 29, was born in Pennsylvania but moved to California when he was in middle school. Raised by a Christian mother and an Iranian-immigrant Muslim father who were often at odds, he struggled to fit in. He followed his father to Northern Virginia in 2012 to try to kick an opiate addiction, and finding Islam helped him do so. In 2015 he met Mahmoud Elhassan, who authorities said encouraged him to become more radical, and he began watching propaganda videos. In January, he attempted to travel to Syria to engage in jihad and was arrested at the Richmond airport.
Farrokh in March pleaded guilty in pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to the terrorist organization.
Mahmoud Elhassan
Woodbridge, Va.
Elhassan, 26, was born in Sudan and became a legal U.S. resident in 2012. According to his brother, he was a Northern Virginia community college student and a cabdriver. He is accused of planning with Farrokh to join the Islamic State abroad and driving his co-defendant to the airport. Farrokh has said that Elhassan knew the Koran well, spoke Arabic and shared with him outrage over the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Mohamad Jamal Khweis
Alexandria, Va.
Khweis, 26, was unknown to law enforcement until he was picked up by Kurdish forces in Iraq in March. According to court documents, the son of Palestinian immigrants began researching the Islamic State in 2015. He traveled to Turkey in December and found his way to Islamic State territory, he has said. He ended up in Mosul, Iraq, undergoing religious and military training. But he “found it hard” to live there, he told Kurdish television, and soon escaped into Kurdish territory.
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh
Sterling, Va.
Jalloh, 26, a U.S. citizen and native of Sierra Leone, was allegedly inspired to quit the Army National Guard last year after listening to the sermons of deceased radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. In March, he was introduced to an FBI informant, according to court documents, and began discussing a possible domestic terrorist attack. He was arrested in July after buying an assault rifle.
Yusuf Wehelie
Fairfax, Va.
Wehelie, the 25-year-old son of Somali immigrants, was detained in Egpyt six years ago with his brother after a trip to Yemen. He was arrested in July on a charge of possessing a weapon as a felon, after allegedly making comments about his desire to join the Islamic State or commit a domestic terrorist attack to undercover agents.
Haris Qamar
Burke, Va.
Qamar, a 25-year-old born in Brooklyn, allegedly tried to join the Islamic State in 2014 but was stopped because his parents took his passport. According to court documents, Qamar came to the attention of the FBI because of his enthusiastic Twitter promotion of the Islamic State. He was befriended by an FBI informant, who he allegedly told of his desire to kill enemies of the Islamic State here or abroad. At the informant’s suggestion, according to authorities, Qamar took footage for a video encouraging attacks on D.C.-area landmarks.
Nicholas Young
Fairfax, Va.
Young, 36, a convert to Islam who grew up in Northern Virginia, has been watched by the FBI for the past seven years after concerns were raised by his co-workers in the D.C. Metro police. Young had been in and out of touch with undercover informants and agents, according to court documents, and was arrested in August after buying gift cards he thought would be used for mobile messages in support of the Islamic State.