A Sheffield Lake man has been indicted on charges of trying to help the terrorist group ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The FBI alleges 38 year old Amir Al-Ghazi bought an assault rifle off an undercover agent. More on the story from ideastream’s Mark Urycki
Amir Said Rahman Al Ghazi, was once known as Robert C. McCullum and converted to Islam in prison, where he was serving time for drug convictions. But the FBI say he didn’t stop his criminal behavior. Michael Tobin of the US Attorney’s office in Cleveland says the big charge is connected to ISIL.
“Count one is providing material support to a foreign designated terrorist organization, which is a fancy way of saying “providing support to ISIL” in this case. That support took the form of recruiting videos he was attempting to make.”
Al-Ghazi was also indicted on charges of possessing an AK-47 assault rifle and a pistol under disability - against the law for a convicted felon.
“This indictment demonstrates law enforcement’s number one priority -- to keep our communities and our nation safe,” Special Agent in Charge Anthony said in a statement. “It is clear that no area is immune from the influence of ISIL and its supporters. We hope this indictment will serve as a strong message to others who may consider providing support to terrorists. The FBI and our Joint Terrorism Task Force partners are committed to identifying and stopping these individuals.”
Tobin says ISIL has been able to recruit Americans to its cause.
“They certainly use sophisticated social media campaigns on Twitter, on You Tube to target people who are vulnerable. Other terrorist organizations have done that but ISIL seems to be a bit more sophisticated and have had a little more success doing it.” :17
Al-Ghazi was also indicted on 25 counts of selling –and attempting to sell- marijuana over the past year and a half.