Trial date set for couple who attempted to join ISIS
Published 4:37 pm Tuesday, December 22, 2015
A trial date has been set for a Vicksburg teen and her boyfriend charged with allegedly conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Jaelyn Young, 19, of Vicksburg, and Muhammed Dakhlalla, 22, of Starkville, are scheduled to go on trial June 6 at the U.S. District Court in Aberdeen, according to published reports.
The pair was arrested Aug. 8 at Golden Triangle Airport in Columbus just before boarding a flight with tickets bound for Istanbul.
Authorities said the two began seeking online help in traveling to Syria as early as May, not realizing they were actually chatting with undercover federal agents.
Young and Dakhlalla had undergone a nikkah, or Islamic marriage ceremony, and planned to pose as honeymooners on their trip, authorities said.
Young volunteered to be a medic for the Islamic State, while Dakhlalla had volunteered to produce Internet media for the group or even to serve as a fighter, according to an arrest affidavit prepared by the FBI.
Authorities said that both confessed their plans to FBI agents after their arrest and that both left behind letters to their families admitting what they were doing.
The letters are mentioned in court documents, but are not available for public viewing.
Young and Dakhlalla have been held without bond since August and both pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
Federal prosecutors argued against their release, and U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Allen Alexander sided with them following a two-day hearing in early August.
The judge said that even under tight supervision at home, she feared the two would seek to commit terrorist acts.
They will have until May 23 to reach a plea agreement.
Young is a 2013 honors graduate of Warren Central High School. She was a sophomore chemistry major at Mississippi State University and living in Starkville, but she did not register for fall classes, university spokesman Sid Salter said.
If convicted, both face up to 20 years in prison and a lifetime of probation.