Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Indy teen arrested for intent to join ISIS

An 18-year-old in Indianapolis was arrested Tuesday by the FBI as he boarded a bus to travel to New York and ultimately join ISIS in Morocco, according to an Associated Press 
report.

Akram Musleh, a Brownsburg, Indiana, resident, faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release if he’s convicted, according to the report. FBI spokeswoman Wendy Osborne said Musleh was arrested without incident when agents apprehended him at a Greyhound bus terminal in Indianapolis.

Musleh appeared in court Tuesday to hear his initial charge, the report states. The charge was that of intending to provide material support to the Islamic State terror group by joining its forces.

The teenager’s record isn’t entirely clean. Last year he tried to fly from Chicago to Iraq and booked three separate one-way tickets from Chicago to Turkey. He was stopped from flying last June due to disordered travel documents.

His internet history initially got him in trouble in 2013, according to the report, when law enforcement contacted him and Brownsburg High School due to his posting several videos featuring an al-Qaeda leader online. Nine months later, he bought an Islamic State flag online and took photos of himself with it.

More internet history includes Musleh reading an article about 8,000 potential terrorist targets in Indiana on May 2 and searching for information about pressure cookers, which can be used in making explosives. He also searched for further information about explosives like dynamite and flash powder, according to the report.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence released a statement June 21 commending the FBI and law enforcement for their successful arrest of Musleh.

“The apprehension of this suspect is an example of collaboration at the highest level of law enforcement and, because of these actions, there is no doubt that Indiana is a safer place,” he said in his release.

Musleh’s arrest comes in the wake of the shooting deaths of 49 people in Orlando, Florida. The gunman, Omar Mateen, who was associated with ISIS, was on United States’ watch lists but failed to ever be convicted.

“In these challenging times, it is essential that all Hoosiers exercise vigilance and report any suspicious activities to the appropriate law enforcement authorities,” Pence said in his statement. “In short, if you see something, say something.”

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe