Wisconsin ISIS Wannabe Sentenced to 10 Years Federal Prison

MADISON, WI — A Wisconsin man has been sentenced to 10 years prison on Friday, accused of attempting to join the foreign terrorist organization ISIS.

Joshua Van Haften, 36, of Madison was sentenced to federal prison and lifetime supervised release after his conviction of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which is considered a terrorist organization by U.S. officials.

“With this sentence, Joshua Van Haften will be held accountable for attempting to travel overseas to join ISIS and to provide material support to the designated terrorist organization,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord.

According to a Wisconsin State Journal report Friday, U.S. District Judge James Peterson stated he was looking for a positive change in Van Haften but was unconvinced. “Now, when you say you never meant to hurt anyone, that is very hard for me to believe,” Peterson said in the State Journal report. “I have to look at what you did compared to what you’re telling me now, and I’m having a hard time believing.”

According to the report, Van Haften posted a number of dubious messages on social media, including one that positively remarked on the beheading of journalist James Foley in 2014.

The Arrest, The Recruit and Foreign Travel

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Van Haften was arrested at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois in April 2015, after his arrival in custody on an international flight from Turkey. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest.

Van Haften admitted that in 2014, he attempted to provide material support to ISIS, knowing that the organization was a designated terrorist organization that has engaged and engages in terrorism.

According to evidence obtained by the prosecution, Van Haften traveled to Turkey in 2014 and attempted to cross into Syria. He posted online that he had taken an oath of allegiance to the leader of ISIS, and that “The only thing that matters to me is joining my brothers for the war against America [sic] liars.”

Federal prosecutors stated that in addition to traveling to Turkey in an attempt to fight with ISIS, Van Haften tried to assist another American, Leon Davis, in joining ISIS. He attempted to meet Davis in Istanbul upon Davis’s arrival – actually waiting for Davis at a bus stop in Istanbul – and planned to travel with Davis to Syria to join and fight with ISIS.

>>> image via Dane County Jail