Courts Charge California Man with Trying to Join the Islamic State

A twenty one years old California man who was earlier charged with lying on a passport application so that he could go to Syria to join ISIS has been indicted on charges of terrorism. Adam Dandach was charged with trying to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He is also facing charged of obstruction of justice for trying to destroy records of his online activity in order to thwart investigators.

Dandach was stopped in July at John Wayne International Airport in Orange County while he was trying to board a flight to Turkey. He had been using his expedited replacement passport he had received after claiming that he had accidentally thrown his old one away.

According to prosecutors Dandach knew that it was not true and that his mother had confiscated his passport months before in order to stop him from flying to Syria.

The court documents say, ” Dandach was traveling to Syria for the purpose of pledging his alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, a known terrorist organization, that he would assist ISIS with anything that ISIS asked him to do, and that he believed the killings of U.S. soldiers are justified killings.”

When he was told that he could face criminal charges he said that he didn’t care and that he was more disappointed about not going to Syria than running into law.

Dandach is a resident of the city of Orange and is currently being held without bail. He is now scheduled to be arraigned on March 16 on the new charges.

“He’s going to plead not guilty and we’re going to fight them in court,” defense lawyer Pal Lengyel-Leahu said.

In case he is convicted Dandach could be sentences up to 15 years in federal prison on the terrorism charge and up to 25 years on each of the other counts according to federal authorities.

2015-03-05