Politics & Government

Virginia Men Accused of Lying in Islamic State Case

The Falls Church and Woodbridge men are accused of lying to protect a friend that supported ISIL.

FALLS CHURCH, VA -- Two Virginia men were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday with charges involving obstruction of justice and false statements in an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant case.

Soufian Amri, 32, of Falls Church and Michael Queen, 28, of Woodbridge could each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The prosecutors allege that the two men lied to FBI agents to prevent them from investigating their friend Haris Qamar’s support of ISIL.

In February, Qamar had been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for attempting to provide material support to ISIL.

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According to an affidavit filed in the indictment, Queen and Amri knew that Qamar had attempted to abroad to join ISIL in 2014, but they gave the FBI a description of an Indian individual as someone they thought who would join ISIL.

Amri's lawyer John Zwerling said the FBI asked his client generally if he knew anyone that supported ISIL,NBC Washington reported. Zwerling said the FBI did not ask about Qamar specifically, and Amri did not mention him because he did not see Qamar as a legitimate threat.

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