Ohio Man Charged with |Supporting Terrorists

(CN) - A 23-year-old Columbus, Ohio, man has been indicted on multiple charges of providing material support to terrorists and lying to FBI agents.

According to the indictment, Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, a naturalized citizen of the United States, obtained a U.S. passport and purchased a one-way ticket to Greece. But he didn't board his connecting flight to Athens, Greece, prosecutors say, instead he completed pre-arranged plans to travel to Syria.

The indictment goes on to say that after arriving in Syria, Mohamud allegedly trained with the Jabhat al-Nusrah terrorist group in shooting weapons, breaking and entering, how to make and handle explosives, and hand-to-hand combat.

Prosecutors allege that once Mohamud completed his training in Syria, he met with a cleric who told him he should return to the United States and carry our an act of terrorism.

"Mohamud wanted to kill Americans, and specifically wanted to target armed forces, police officers, or any uniformed individuals. Mohamud's plan was to attack a military facility, and his backup plan was to attack a prison," the indictment says.

He was arrested on Feb. 21, 2015. The indictment handed down by a federal grand jury charges Mohamud with one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to terrorists, one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and one count of making false statements to the FBI.

If convicted of providing material support to terrorists and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, Mohamud faces up to 15 years in prison on each count. Making false statements involving international terrorism carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

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