WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A federal jury in the city of Chicago has convicted two men involved in an FBI sting operation that pretended to support the Daesh terrorist group, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday.

"The jury in federal court in Chicago on Thursday convicted Joseph D. Jones, 37, and Edward Schimenti, 37, both of Zion, Illinois, on one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS [Daesh]", a department press release said. "Schimenti was also convicted on one count of making false statements to the FBI".

Jones and Schimenti advocated on social media for violent extremism in support of the terrorist group and began meeting in 2015 with undercover FBI operatives and other individuals who were cooperating with law enforcement, the release said.

In 2017, the pair furnished cellular phones to an FBI operative as part of the sting operation, believing the phones would be used to detonate explosive devices in Daesh attacks overseas, the release detailed.

On 7 April, 2017, Jones and Schimenti drove the operative to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago with the understanding that the individual would be traveling to Syria to fight with the terrorist group, the release said.

The material support charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, according to the release.

*Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS or Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries.