Connecticut Man Who Attempted to Travel to the Middle East to Join and Fight for ISIS Sentenced to Over Seven Years in Prison

Ahmad Khalil Elshazly, 29, of West Haven, Connecticut, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in the District of Connecticut to 92 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in approximately September 2018, Elshazly, a U.S. citizen, expressed a desire to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIS. In numerous conversations online and in person, he swore “bay’at” allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In October 2019, just after al-Baghdadi’s death, he sent a message pledging allegiance to the new leader of ISIS, saying “I pledge my allegiance…to the Khilafah (the successor of the leadership) of the Muslims Abu Ibrahim Al Husseini Al Hashami Al Qurashi…” Elshazly also created and administered a pro-ISIS Discord server that he used to post hundreds of ISIS and other extremist propaganda memes and videos.

On Dec. 14, 2019, Elshazly paid $500 to a person he believed was an ISIS facilitator who would be able to smuggle him out of the U.S. to Turkey. He believed this would enable him to connect with an ISIS member who would assist him with traveling to ISIS within Syria. The next day, Elshazly was arrested after he arrived in Stonington, Connecticut, where he expected to board a boat to begin his trip.

Read more: Department of Justice