A father and son who are U.S. citizens were charged with providing material support to a terrorist group after allegedly joining ISIS, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Emraan Ali, 53, a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad & Tobago, was charged in a complaint with providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Jihad Ali, his 19-year-old son, was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS, according to the Justice Department.
NEW: 2 more US citizens captured by #Syria|n Democratic Forces after joining #ISIS have been transferred to @FBI custody
53yo Emraan Ali & his son, 19yo Jihad Ali, appeared in federal court Wednesday, per @TheJusticeDept
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) September 30, 2020
The two men were detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and recently transferred to the custody of the FBI. The two suspects had their first appearances in court in the Southern District of Florida Wednesday.
Emraan Ali traveled to Syria in March 2015 with his family, including Jihad Ali, to join ISIS. Both men allegedly received military and religious training and served as fighters in support of ISIS.
Emraan and his wife, 1 stepchild, and 5 children left to join ISIS in 2015, Jeff Seldin said on Twitter based on FBI statements. Jihad was 14 years old at the time and reportedly excited to go but “felt he could not speak against his father.” Jihad trained in Syria for roughly 7 months Seldin adds.
Emraan also served in various other roles in support of ISIS before both men finally surrendered to the DSF near Baghuz, Syria in March 2019.
Emraan Ali told agents he then did construction work for #ISIS in Raqqa and purchased weapons, accessories & phones for ISIS
He also said he helped fighters from #Trinidad collect money from relatives back home, via Western Union & several contacts
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) September 30, 2020
Numerous U.S. citizens who allegedly fought alongside ISIS in Syria were captured by the SDF and sent back to the U.S to face trial. Omer Kuzu pleaded guilty in early September to providing material support to terrorism after handling communications for ISIS over the course of five years. (RELATED: US Citizen Turned ISIS Fighter Pleads Guilty To Terror Charge)
A Kosovo-born U.S. citizen, Lirim Sylejmani, faced similar charges after he joined ISIS and was detained by the SDF in 2019, the Justice Department reported September 16.