Bolingbrook Teen Pleads Not Guilty; Mom Accuses ISIS of 'Brainwashing Children'

A Bolingbrook mother lashed out at Islamic terrorist group ISIS on Tuesday, accusing the organization of using the Internet to brainwash and recruit children.

Zarine Khan spoke out after her son, 19-year-old Mohammed Hamzah Khan, appeared in federal court Tuesday, pleading not guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

• American Arrested as He Tried to Leave Country to Fight for ISIS: Feds

The teen was arrested in October at O’Hare International Airport as he allegedly attempted to board a flight headed to Vienna before heading to Turkey, where he planned to join ISIS, prosecutors said. The teen’s younger siblings, a 16-year-old brother and 17-year-old sister, were with him at the time of his arrest and also planned to join ISIS, authorities maintain. The younger teens have not been charged.

• Bolingbrook Teen’s Brother, Sister Also Wanted to Join ISIS: Prosecutors

Mohammed Hamzah Khan was formally indicted Thursday.

Zarine Khan, a mother of four, spoke to reporters, lashing out at the terrorist group.

“Leave our children alone,” the Bolingbrook woman said, accusing ISIS and its self-proclaimed leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, of “brainwashing and recruiting of children through the use of social media and the Internet,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Zarine Khan and husband Shafi told reporters they felt the need to speak out after the “unspeakable acts of horror” at the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. A branch of Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Bolingbrook woman said she condemned the violence, telling the Tribune and other reporters, “The venom spewed by these groups and the violence committed by them find no support in the Quran and are completely at odds with our Islamic faith.” Click here for the full article and video of Zarine Khan’s comments.

After his arrest in October, Mohammed Hamzah Khan allegedly told FBI agents that he met a person online who was to provide him with an ISIS contact when he arrived in Turkey, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said a letter the teen left behind in the family’s Bolingbrook home pleaded with his mother and father not to tell authorities of his plans.

If he’s convicted, the 19-year-old faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

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