Bolingbrook man indicted in terrorism plot
A 19-year-old Bolingbrook man has been indicted on allegations he plotted to fly to the Middle East and join the Islamic State terrorist group, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Mohammed Hamzah Khan was charged with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization according to the one-count indictment returned late Thursday.
Khan initially was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and the indictment formalizes that same charge. According to the indictment, between February and Oct. 4, 2014, Khan attempted to provide material support and resources, specifically personnel, to the Islamic State.
Attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Khan has been held without bail since his Oct. 4 arrest at O'Hare International Airport as he and his 17-year-old sister and 16-year-old brother attempted to board a plane to Austria. From there, they were planning to fly to Turkey, authorities said.
Investigators say Khan, who was born in the suburbs to Indian parents, left a letter in his bedroom expressing disgust with Western society. His two siblings left similar letters. In their letters, all three urged their parents not to call police.
On the day of his arrest, Khan went to O'Hare with his siblings and three round-trip tickets to Turkey that he had purchased for $2,600.
After Khan arrived at the airport, law enforcement agents watched him pass through the security screening checkpoint at O'Hare's international terminal. He initially was approached by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and then was interviewed for three hours by FBI agents at the airport, according to a federal complaint.
Prosecutors said Khan's siblings also were detained. The teens gave conflicting stories about why they were traveling to Turkey.
Khan's parents, Shafi and Zarine Khan, didn't know their children were planning to leave. When authorities arrived at the home, the mother told them she thought one of her children was still there.
The criminal complaint filed in October alleged that once Khan was in Turkey, he planned to meet someone who would take him to Islamic State locations in Iraq or Syria. When asked what he was going to do there, Khan said he expected to be involved "in some type of public service, a police force, humanitarian work, or a combat role."
A telephone call and email placed to Khan's attorney, Thomas Durkin, was not immediately returned Friday.