Mufid Elfgeeh, a Rochester man who was one of the first Americans ever accused of helping and recruiting for the Islamic State Group, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.
Mufid Elfgeeh, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of providing material support to ISIS. He faces 15 years in prison for each count, bringing the total to 30 years.
He was also charged with attempting to kill members of the U.S. military and possessing illegal firearms.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Elfgeeh tried to support ISIS by having three people join the group, but two were cooperating with the FBI. Elfgeeh intended to have all three travel to Syria to fight alongside ISIS, according to prosecutors.
Mufid Elfgeeh first discussed jihad with FBI sources in late 2013 and continued into the next year, according to prosecutors. Officials say Elfgeeh took a number of steps to prepare the two sources for a trip to Syria. The plan included sending $600 to someone in Yemen to assist the sources in their travel.
Mufid Elfgeeh is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Yemen who previously operated a Rochester food store. He will be sentenced on March 17, 2016.
Read the plea agreement:
Agencies/Canadajournal
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Do what Daesh does to prisoners. Cut his head off then send the parts to the terrorist group. Why spend millions keeping this POS in jail. We don’t want his kind anywhere in North America. Not even his body.