Columbus Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Aaron Travis Daniels, 20, aka Harun Muhammad, aka Abu Yusef of Columbus pled guilty in U.S. District Court to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339B. Daniels faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman of the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and agencies participating in the Columbus Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) announced the plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr.

JTTF agents arrested Daniels on November 7, 2106, as he attempted to leave Columbus with the intent to join ISIS in Libya. A federal grand jury indicted him on November 10, 2016 Daniels has been in custody since his arrest.

“This case demonstrates how terrorist activities abroad can reach into our local communities,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “Our office and agencies in the JTTF will continue to cooperate as we work to protect our national security.”

The Columbus JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Columbus Division of Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, The Ohio State University Police Department, the Ohio Investigative Unit, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the John Glenn International Airport Police Department, Westerville Police Department and Columbus Division of Fire.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica W. Knight, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gibson with Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s Office, and Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.