Ohio man tries to join ISIS, sentenced

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A Beavercreek man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being arrested by the FBI while attempting to travel to Afghanistan to join ISIS.
Naser Almadaoji, 23, an Iraqi-born United States citizen, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release, according to Attorney Kenneth L. Parker.
Almadaoji pleaded guilty in Nov. 2021 just before his jury trial was scheduled to begin. He admitted to attempting to provide material support – himself, as personnel – to foreign terrorist organizations, namely ISIS and ISIS-K.
According to court documents, Almadaoji purchased a plane ticket for travel on Oct. 24, 2018, and was arrested by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force officers after checking in and obtaining his boarding pass.
Almadaoji intended to travel to Astana, Kazahkstan, where he planned to be smuggled into Afghanistan so that he could join and receive military training from ISIS-K in support of both that terrorist group and ISIS.
He explained to an individual whom he believed to be an ISIS supporter that he wanted “weapons experts training, planning and executing, hit and run, capturing high value targets, ways to break into homes and avoid security guards. That type of training.”
He began making travel plans in Sept. 2018. Prior to that, between Feb. 16 and 24, 2018, Almadaoji traveled to Egypt and Jordan for the purpose of joining ISIS’s affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula, ISIS Wilayat Sinai, another designated foreign terrorist organization, but he ultimately was unsuccessful.
Almadaoji told an individual posing as an ISIS supporter online about his proposed plot to start a conflict in the United States between the federal government and anti-government militias. He asked the purported ISIS supporter for a guide on how to make a car bomb.
In August 2018, Almadaoji also told the purported ISIS supporter that he was “always willing” to assist with “projects” in the United States.
Almadaoji recorded and sent a video of himself wearing a headscarf and pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS. In addition, he translated a purported ISIS document from Arabic to English, telling his contact, “Don’t thank me…it’s my duty.”
“Almadaoji was not just an ideological supporter of terrorism, he attempted to train to fight, assassinate, kidnap and kill, in hopes of employing violence in America on behalf of ISIS,” Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said.
“Thanks to the FBI and our other law enforcement partners, Almadaoji was ultimately unsuccessful in his plan to become a human weapon and will now spend a decade in federal prison.”