Mollie Bryant

The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

JACKSON, Miss. — A 20-year-old Mississippi woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to provide support and personnel to a terrorist organization.

Jaelyn Delshaun Young pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge stemming from an FBI investigation into her alleged plans to join the Islamic State with her fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, 23.

As part of her plea agreement, two additional counts of attempting to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization were dismissed. Young also waived the right to appeal her sentence of up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine as part of the deal.

Young and Dakhlalla both pleaded not guilty in December, but Dakhlalla changed his plea to guilty to that count earlier this month.

Mississippi woman to plead guilty in Islamic State case

The couple was arrested at the Golden Triangle Airport in Columbus, Miss. on Aug. 8. Investigators said they were bound for Atlanta, and eventually for Syria, where they hoped to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.

The arrests came after months of online contact with undercover FBI employees posing as Islamic State members. The FBI initially made contact with Young after she posted pro-Islamic State material on Twitter, including retweets of Islamic State propaganda.

Believing she was speaking with Islamic State recruiters, Young described herself as skilled in math and chemistry, having worked in an analytical lab, and she hoped to work as a medic for the terrorist organization. Dakhlalla aspired to become a "holy warrior," Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said.

“After her conversion, Young distanced herself from family and friends and felt spending time with non-Muslims would be a bad influence,” prosecutors wrote.

The two are former Mississippi State University students. Dakhlalla was a Spring 2015 graduate in psychology, and Young is a former sophomore chemistry student.

Court documents not only show that Young allegedly wanted to join Islamic State but that she rejoiced over the death of five service members in an attack in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"What makes me feel better after just watching the news is that an akhi carried out an attack against US marines in TN," she wrote. "Alhamdulillah, the numbers of supporters are growing."

Contributing: Therese Apel, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger. Follow Mollie Bryant on Twitter: @MollieEBryant