Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan | Department of Justice
A Michigan man was sentenced on May 7 to 20 years in federal prison after being convicted by a jury last year of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and for being a felon in possession of a destructive device, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced.
The sentencing highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to counter terrorism-related threats within the United States. The case involved attempts by Aws Mohammed Naser, age 38 and formerly of Westland, Michigan, to assist ISIS—a designated foreign terrorist organization—by providing personnel and services.
Naser was found guilty following a five-week trial in which evidence showed he twice tried to provide material support to ISIS while knowing its designation as a terrorist group. He was also convicted of possessing a destructive device as a felon. The jury reached its verdict after approximately six hours of deliberation.
“This self-professed ‘soldier of the Caliphate’ and ‘son of the Islamic State’ has now faced American justice. We welcomed this traitor into our Nation with open arms. And he repaid us by building a bomb and helping our great enemy,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon.
Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Detroit Field Office, said: “Those who support terrorism or violent extremism against the United States should expect a lengthy prison sentence. Today’s outcome sends that message without question... Thanks to the thorough investigative work of our FBI Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force and partner agencies, this defendant was identified, disrupted, and brought to justice.”
Evidence presented during trial revealed that Naser became radicalized in his early twenties through online content promoting Salafi-Jihadist ideology. He traveled with Russell Dennison—who later joined Al-Nusrah Front—to Iraq before returning alone in August 2012 while Dennison continued on toward Syria.
After two failed attempts between late 2012 and early 2013 to leave the country for Syria—including one attempt immediately following an armed robbery—Naser served three years in prison for that crime before focusing his efforts on supporting ISIS from within the United States upon release.
Authorities discovered Naser had created secret social media accounts tied to ISIS supporter networks where he obtained explosives information, received bomb-making training from another supporter, experimented with explosives manufacturing techniques including TATP (“The Mother of Satan”), operated drones, and maintained an improvised explosive device lab at his home until it was uncovered during an FBI search in October 2017.
