California man charged with trying to join ISIS
LOS ANGELES -- A 21-year-old California man previously charged with lying on a passport application so he could fly to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was indicted Wednesday on terrorism charges.
Adam Dandach was charged with trying to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He also faces obstruction of justice charges for trying to destroy records of his online activity to thwart investigators.
Dandach was stopped in July at John Wayne International Airport in Orange County while trying to board a flight to Turkey, CBS Los Angeles reported. He was using an expedited replacement passport he received after claiming he had accidentally thrown his old one away.
Prosecutors said Dandach knew that wasn't true and that his mother had confiscated the passport months before to stop him from going overseas.
According to court documents, Dandach "was traveling to Syria for the purpose of pledging his alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, a known terrorist organization, that he would assist ISIS with anything that ISIS asked him to do, and that he believed the killings of U.S. soldiers are justified killings."
When told he could face criminal charges, Dandach said he was more disappointed about not going to Syria than about getting in trouble with the law, according to court filings.
Dandach, a resident of the city of Orange, is being held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned March 16 on the new charges.
"He's going to plead not guilty and we're going to fight them in court," defense lawyer Pal Lengyel-Leahu said.
The defendant, also known as Fadi Fadi Dandach, previously pleaded not guilty to lying on a passport application and using a passport secured through false statements. Prosecutors added in the new indictment that he committed those offenses to facilitate international terrorism.
If convicted, Dandach could face up to 15 years in federal prison on the terrorism charge, and up to 25 years on each of the other counts, federal authorities said.