Former Fort Bend teacher appears in federal court on charge he backed ISIS

Warren Christopher Clark, right foreground in wheelchair, appears in Federal Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray. He was accompanied by his attorney Mike Degeurin. Courtroom sketch by Houston Chronicle artist Ken Ellis less Warren Christopher Clark, right foreground in wheelchair, appears in Federal Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray. He was accompanied by his attorney Mike Degeurin. Courtroom sketch by Houston ... more Photo: Ken Ellis Photo: Ken Ellis Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Former Fort Bend teacher appears in federal court on charge he backed ISIS 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

A former Fort Bend substitute teacher, captured recently in Syria as a suspected ISIS combatant, was brought before a federal magistrate in Houston Friday on a charge he attempted to support the Middle East terrorist organization notorious for posting videos of American journalists being beheaded by its militants.

Warren Christopher Clark, 34, appeared Friday on a single-count indictment alleging he tried to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group between 2011 and October 2015. Others convicted of this charge in recent years have been sentenced by federal courts to an average of 10 years in prison, according to a George Washington University scholar who closely tracks homegrown terrorism investigations into people suspected of becoming self-radicalized on U.S soil.

That researcher, Seamus Hughes, revealed evidence last year that Clark formally inquired about becoming an English teacher for ISIS. However, the public documents, as yet, do not specify whether this alleged cover letter and a resume that ends in the summer of 2015 are the focus of the allegations.

The one-paragraph indictment was returned under seal Wednesday, and officials said that Clark made the international journey in the custody of FBI officials, arriving in the Houston area Thursday. Federal law enforcement agencies declined to provide further details about Clark’s transfer from the custody of his captors from the Syrian Democratic Front to U.S. officials.

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Seated in a wheelchair in a maroon track jacket with one arm looped through a crutch and the other cuffed to the chair, Clark appeared calm and sleepy. He rested his forehead on the crutch pad and moved moving his lips slightly as he read through a packet of court papers before the hearing. His defense lawyer said he understood Clark injured his leg in a personal conflict in Syria.

The suspect’s father, Warren A. Clark, seated nearby him at the front of the courtroom gallery, declined to talk to a reporter. Family members have avoided interviews in the weeks following Clark’s capture.

Clark, a U.S. citizen who was raised in Sugar Land by parents who taught in the Houston Independent School District, was reported to have been captured by Kurdish rebels in Syria on Jan. 6. Following his capture, Clark granted an interview in Syria to Richard Engel, a foreign correspondent for MSNBC and NBC News, where he discussed how he spent time side-by-side with many engaged with the conflict.

AMERICAN CAPTURED: Former Fort Bend substitute teacher reportedly captured among ISIS militants in Syria

Clark appeared at an undisclosed location without his rebel captors in the room on Jan. 15, Engel said. The Sugar Land man entered on crutches with his left leg elevated. In a steady voice, Clark told Engel, “I saw some people being executed. I saw crucifixions, you know? That’s just normal life there…Things like this happen.” He went on to say that as a Texas native, public executions did not shock him.

Clark said in the Jan. 15 interview that he went abroad because wanted to understand more about Islamic culture, but he said he did not take up arms with the group. Clark explained that he had been imprisoned by ISIS police for not supporting the fight.

After a U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray called Clark’s case Friday, a federal marshal wheeled him forward and Clark identified himself in a soft voice. The judge went through a basic inquiry, as Clark’s criminal defense attorney, Mike Degeurin, stood at his side.

The judge asked whether Clark understood the charge against him, that he faced a sentence of up to 20 years and he had a right to remain silent.

Clark told the judge he did have a question.

“Before I was interviewed in Syria by MSNBC and the FBI, I was very lost, very lost. I was — ” Clark said.

Bray interrupted and advised Clark not to talk to anyone but his lawyer about the consequences of his prior statements.

“Starting here, right now, you understand you have the right to remain silent?” Bray asked. “For example, what you did right there? Don’t do that, OK?”

“It’s a very serious matter,” added Bray, a former federal public defender. “Don’t talk to your family. Don’t talk to your friends. Don’t talk to MSNBC. Make sure that anybody you do talk to is sanctioned by your lawyer.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McIntyre said Clark posed a flight risk and asked the judge to detain him pending a detention hearing. Bray agreed, setting the hearing for Wednesday afternoon in Houston. The trial against Clark, however, is on the docket of the federal court in Galveston, likely because of Clark’s lifelong connections in Sugar Land.

A Twitter account that matches an email handle used by Clark debunks a series of “myths” about ISIS. The account, which was active between August 2014 and February 2015, includes a September tweet stating, “ISIS are only fighting soldiers that have been oppressing Muslims for years. They are liberators.”

Clark’s father told the New York Times on the day his capture was announced that his son was peaceful and he did not believe he would do anything violent.

Degeurin, his defense lawyer, offered a similar perspective.

“He is a very polite, articulate, well-educated person and we are seeking that he be released to the custody of his parents pending trial,” Degeurin said, in a courthouse hallway following the proceeding. His lawyer said he didn’t know anything about his client’s mental state, but his impression is that Clark is smart, gentle and worldly.

His attorney explained that the family had hired him in 2018 after evidence became public that Clark may have applied to work overseas as an English teacher for ISIS.

Degeurin said he had been working with the family since February 2018 trying to track Clark down through the U.S. State Department and the FBI when the family learned that Clark had been captured by Kurdish rebels. His lawyer said his client was trying to get away from ISIS.

“We understand he was trying to get to the embassy,” Degeurin said. “We finally learned that he was in Kurd custody, and then somehow Richard Engel of MSNBC goes and gets an interview with him.”

But the top law enforcement officer in the region said prosecuting terrorism cases are vital to national security.

“The arm of American justice has a lengthy reach,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick said, in the wake of Friday’s hearing. “The number one priority of the Southern District of Texas, along with the FBI and our other national security partners, is to keep America safe. The protection of life is the most sacred job law enforcement has.”

Clark graduated in 2007 from the University of Houston, where he majored in political science and minored in global business. He went on to work as a substitute in Fort Bend ISD. He was a practicing Muslim in high school and showed no signs of radicalization, said people who knew him during his years at William P. Clements High School in Sugar Land.

He is the fourth person in Houston accused of associating with ISIS to face federal charges in Houston for attempting to support the group.

Two of those defendants were convicted and sentenced for providing material support and the third is awaiting trial.

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In all, 174 individuals living in the U.S. have been charged with ISIS-related offenses, according to Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at GWU. Clark is the 16th person to return from Syria or Iraq after joining a jihadist group, Hughes said.

The GWU scholar, who was the first to report Clark’s alleged interest in ISIS in 2018, said Clark’s arrest represents the culmination of a multiyear investigation.

“His time within the Islamic State may give a unique insight into the structure of one of the world’s most deadly terrorist organizations,” Hughes said. “Federal courts have proven time and time again to be well situated to address these cases. It will likely be a long process but the intelligence gained should have long lasting implications for law enforcement, the public, and scholars studying this phenomenon.”

Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com and follow her on Twitter.