Teen Accused of Trying to Join ISIS Could Get Out On Bond: Lawyers

A 19-year-old from Bolingbrook accused of attempting to join the terrorist group ISIS could get out on bond, his attorneys said Tuesday.

Mohammed Hamzah Khan, who was arrested Oct. 6 at O’Hare International Airport, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison if he’s convicted. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, Khan was headed to Istanbul, Turkey, where he planned to join forces with ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Attorneys for the accused ISIS admirer on Tuesday said court-appointed advisers have recommended he be released from custody while he awaits trial, CBS Chicago reported. Prosecutors have said they will fight to keep Khan in jail.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox is scheduled to rule on whether Khan will be freed on Nov. 3.

Attorneys for the Bolingbrook teenager said pre-trial services recommended Khan be released “under certain conditions,” CBS reported.

American Arrested as He Tries To Leave Country to Fight for ISIS: Feds

Khan, a U.S. citizen, was allegedly attempting to fly first to Austria and then on to Turkey to support ISIS. Court documents allege that a search of his Bolingbrook home yielded notebooks outlining his plans to support the terrorist group, including drawings of an ISIS fighter and flag and the words “Come to jihad.”

Khan allegedly told FBI agents that he met a person online who was to provide him with an ISIS contact when he arrived in Istbanbul.

According to a complaint filed against Khan in federal court, a letter from the teen to his parents urged them not to tell authorities, and stated that Khan was upset that, as an adult, he had to pay taxes to the U.S. that he believed “would be used to kill his ’Muslim brothers and sisters.’”