An Ohio man is in federal custody, facing charges related to attempting to provide material support to terrorist group ISIS.
FBI agents on the Joint Terrorism Task Force on Wednesday arrested Laith Waleed Alebbini, 26, at Cincinnati/Kentucky International Airport. Alebbini was on his way to Syria to join ISIS fighters, the FBI said.
Authorities said in a news release that Alebbini is accused of attempting to “provide material support or resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
Alebbini arrived in the United States in July 2014 on a student visa from Jordan, according to the affidavit. Alebbini was arrested on Jan. 10 for unlawful entry into the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., but the charges were dismissed.
Alebbini refused to say why he was on the property, but said, “You are going to regret this” when he was escorted from the property, authorities said.
He attempted to travel to Turkey via Amsterdam on Jan. 12, but was denied because his Jordanian passport had expired. He carried only a backpack and did not check luggage, according to the affidavit. He returned to the U.S. on Jan. 15.
Alebbini, a citizen of Jordan and a legal permanent resident of the U.S. as of April 2014, will appear Thursday afternoon in federal court in Dayton.
About the Author
