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Ohio jury finds man guilty of trying to create ISIS-inspired terrorist cell in U.S.
[Cleveland.com] AKRON, Ohio -- An Ohio jury on Tuesday found a former FBI informant guilty of trying to create a terrorist cell in the U.S. to carry out attacks in the name of the Islamic State.Erick Jamal Hendricks, of Charlotte, North Carolina, faces up to 30 years in federal prison following the jury's decision to convict him on charges of conspiracy and attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Hendricks, 37, was arrested in North Carolina in August 2016. Prosecutors said much of his activities took place online through Twitter and various encrypted chat apps, though the FBI tracked him in Baltimore as he met in person with someone he believed to be a recruit. In fact, the man was an FBI informant. A large part of the government's case against Hendricks centered on his connection to one of two gunmen who opened fire at "The First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest" in Garland, Texas in May 2015. Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi drove from Phoenix to Garland, which is outside Dallas. They wounded a security guard before a police officer and killed them. Hendricks was not in Texas but was chatting with an undercover FBI agent before and after Simpson and Soofi opened fire. The agent testified that he was in Garland at the time and saw Simpson and Soofi open fire, but he was not aware of the pair's plan before it was executed. Hendricks is not from Ohio and most of the criminal activity the federal government charged him with did not occur here. It was tried in Akron largely because Hendricks reached out to Sheffield Lake man Amir Al-Ghazi on social media in order to get him to recruit others. Al-Ghazi, who is awaiting sentencing for buying an AK-47 in support of ISIS, testified against Hendricks. Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2018-03-22 |
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