Dayton man accused of trying to join ISIS in Syria

A Dayton man is in federal custody, facing charges related to attempting to provide material support to terrorist group ISIS.

• Laith Waleed Alebbini, 26, arrested Wednesday at Cincinnati/Kentucky International Airport
• Federal FBI agents learned 3 days ago of flight to Middle East
  
• Alebbini was on way to Syria to join ISIS fighters, FBI alleges
  
• If convicted, Alebbini would face up to 20 years, a fine up to $250,000, up to lifetime supervised release and likely lose his green card

UPDATE @ 3:46 p.m.

Ashli Johnson, who lives in the same complex as Laith Waleed Alebbini, said she had seen him around but never thought something like an ISIS connection would crop up.

"Nothing triggered me to think something negative was going on," Johnson said. "It's scary, very."

Wednesday night Johnson said she saw the evidence truck at Alebbini's apartment.

UPDATE @ 1:50 p.m.

Following the court appearance, U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman addressed the media.

He said the FBI investigation has spanned months, 24 hours a day.

“These are extremely labor intensive investigations,” Glassman said.

Alebbini came onto the FBI’s radar in January when attempting to enter the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. He said an FBI insider was working with Alebbini and relaying information back to agents.

Who is the Dayton man linked to ISIS?

UPDATE @ 1:30 p.m.

Laith Alebbini entered the courtroom at 1:24 p.m. wearing dark pants and a maroon sweater. He and three other defendants are awaiting the judge.

A preliminary hearing is set for May 11. A detention hearing will be held May 2.

UD’s terrorism expert: Be vigilant for signs of radicalization

UPDATE @ 12:27 p.m.

On April 24, 2017, an FBI agent wrote that he learned a plane ticket had been issued for Alebbini to fly from Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky airport to Chicago and then onto Turkey and Jordan.

On April 26, 2017, Alebbini and a confidential source went to the Cincinnati airport and got their boarding passes from United Airlines. After Alebbini walked toward TSA, law enforcement officers arrested him and advised him of his Miranda rights.

A subsequent interview at the FBI office in Cincinnati was audio and video recorded. Alebbini admitted he planned to travel to Turkey and fight for ISIS.

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UPDATE @ 12:10 p.m.

An FBI raid Wednesday night in Dayton was at the residence of Laith Waleed Alebbini in the 3800 block of Lakebend Drive, the FBI confirms.

UPDATE @ 11:51 a.m.

On March 27, 2017, Alebbini said he’d be leaving in one week on a train from Cincinnati to Virginia. According to the affidavit, Alebbini said he would throw away his permanent resident “green card” because he believes he was living among apostates who kill Muslims and that it will be used against him on judgment day.

He also allegedly said that he would rather stay 10 years in prison than one year in America. If he became a prisoner, Alebbini said at least he could say he tried to support the cause but was prevented from doing so.

On March 29, 2017, Alebbini met with a confidential source for about 77 minutes and they discussed Alebbini’s plan to travel from Washington, D.C. to Jordan where he could continue to Syria and fight with ISIS.

Alebbini did not board a train from Cincinnati to Washington, D.C., despite that he had obtained a ticket, the affidavit said, because he got into an argument with his cousins about the plan.

Alebbini said he wanted his wife to move to Jordan to raise his son, the affidavit said. In the same April 3, 2017 conversation with a confidential source Alebbini said that if he joins Al-Dawlah (ISIS) and only fires a couple shots before he is killed, it would be good, because he would be inciting the faithful.

Many of the conversations with confidential sources were consensually recorded, the affidavit said. Alebbini told the FBI that he had moved to the Dayton area in March. On April 15, Alebbini asked the FBI about his ability to travel overseas and was told the FBI’s investigation did not prohibit him from traveling.

Alebbini told a confidential source that the new plan was to fly from Cincinnati to Chicago and then to Jordan before going to Turkey. He also had contingency plans that included that his father could help him.

(Story continues after complaint)

UPDATE @ 11:32 a.m. 

Alebbini said his Facebook account was disabled after he posted the pro-ISIS videos. He also complained about politics in Jordan.

“Allah willing, when (ISIS) comes, it will cut the head of King Abdulla (of Jordan),” Alebbini said. “Then it will go to free Palestine. Things will be back to normal.”

During discussions with a confidential source, Alebbini is alleged to have said his father told him ISIS would enter Jordan soon and that Alebbini told the source that they way to get to ISIS was to travel through Gaziantep, a border city in Turkey.

The affidavit also said that Alebbini found anti-ISIS literature being distributed at a mosque and that he took the brochures to the card and then threw them in the garbage can.

UPDATE @ 11:19 a.m.

On Jan. 23, 2017, the FBI and U.S. Secret Service interviewed Alebbini at the Turkish Embassy. During the interview, he admitted to posting pro-ISIS videos on his Facebook page.

“I am the perfect recruit for ISIS,” Alebbini said, noting that security at the embassy was lax and that, “(If) I had a bomb on me, I swear to God, three embassies would have gone down.”

Alebbini met a woman in Dayton he claims to be his wife and said moved to the Dayton area March 1, 2017, according to the complaint. From March 3, 2017 to the present, Alebbini had multiple conversations with a confidential source.

“You need a regime like the regime of (ISIS) right now,” Alebbini is quoted in the complaint as saying to the confidential source. “They come to exterminate the old regime. They don’t leave anyone.”

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We will continue to update this report with the latest information from our reporters.

FBI searching apartments in Dayton The FBI are searching apartments at North Lake Hills in Dayton.

FIRST REPORT

A media release says Alebbini is accused of attempting to “provide material support or resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.”

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Alebbini arrived in the United States on a student visa from Jordan in July 2014, according to the affidavit. On Jan. 10, 2017, Alebbini was arrested for unlawful entry into the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C, but the charges were dismissed.

Alebbini refused to say why he was on the property, but did say, “You are going to regret this” when escorted from the property.

On Jan. 12, 2017, he attempted to travel to Turkey via Amsterdam, but was denied because his Jordanian passport had expired. He only had a backpack and did not check luggage, according to the affidavit. He returned to the U.S. on Jan. 15, 2017.

Alebbini — a citizen of Jordan and legal permanent resident of the U.S. as of April 2014 — will appear this afternoon, April 27 in federal court in Dayton.

The FBI complaint alleges the man attempted to travel to Syria in order to "fight with ISIS against the Syrian leadership.”