Mississippi Woman Pleads Guilty to Trying to Join ISIS
A young Mississippi woman has pleaded guilty to trying to join ISIS in Syria.
In federal court Tuesday, 20-year-old Jaelyn Delshaun Young admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
The former Mississippi State chemistry major converted to Islam in March 2015. According to prosecutors, Young "began to express hatred for the U.S. government" and "support for the implementation of Shariah law in the United States."
She and her fiancé, Muhammad Dakhlalla, who has also pleaded guilty to a terror charge, got married in June under Islamic law.
The couple told their families they were going on their honeymoon. According to court papers, the two left farewell letters explaining that "they would never be back."
Young acknowledged her role as the planner and said her husband was going as her companion of "his own free will."
But the FBI had been keeping tabs on them and arrested them August 8 at the Golden Triangle Airport in Mississippi right before they boarded their flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
Young, who is to be sentenced at a later date, faces up to 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and lifetime probation.
