3 Michigan residents arrested for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS: DOJ

Three residents of Lansing, Mich., were arrested Monday for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan charged Muse Abdikadir Muse, Mohamud Abdikadir Muse and Mohamed Salat Haji in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The conspiracy charge carries a punishment of up to 20 years in federal prison. 

{mosads}All three men are naturalized U.S. citizens who were born in Kenya.

The complaint alleges that all three men pledged allegiance to ISIS in homemade videos. It says Muse Abdikadir Muse, who was arrested at the Gerald R. Ford Airport after checking into a flight for a multi-leg journey to Somalia, purchased airline tickets to Mogadishu and eventually join ISIS. Mohamud Abdikadir Muse and Haji helped pay for the trip and drove him to the airport and were aware of the true purpose of the flight. 

Muse Abdikadir Muse and Haji also allegedly discussed their desire to join ISIS and kill non-Muslims either abroad or in the U.S. if they could not travel overseas.

The news comes just weeks after two Americans fighting for ISIS were captured in Syria by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

If they are extradited to the U.S., the two men would become the 15th and 16th American adults to return to the U.S. after joining ISIS, according to The New York Times.

President Trump last month announced the military would withdraw its roughly 2,000 troops in Syria fighting ISIS, claiming victory over the terrorist group. The move prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis and was met with bipartisan criticism, with members of Congress emphasizing that ISIS is still actively planning and executing terrorist attacks.