Judge Refuses to Close Hearing for Bolingbrook Teen Accused of Trying to Join ISIS

A federal judge has refused a request by prosecutors to close her courtroom to the public and the media during a hearing for a 19-year-old accused of attempting to aid a terrorist group.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox denied the request, made by prosecturos who cited “privacy concerns” involving two minors connected to Bolingbrook teen Hamzah Khan’s case, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Khan, a U.S. citizen, was arrested Oct. 6 at O’Hare International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Vienna, Austria. Federal authorities allege that from there, he planned to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, where he sought to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

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Khan is due in court on Monday, at which time Cox is expected to rule on whether he will be released on bond. Attorneys for the Bolingbrook teenager said pre-trial services recommended Khan be released “under certain conditions,” CBS reported.

In a four-page ruling, Cox said prosectors had failed to prove that closing the court to the public during the hearing would outweigh the “value of openness,” the Tribune reported.

Court documents allege that a search of Khan’s Bolingbrook home yielded notebooks outlining his plans to support the terrorist group. The teen also 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.