A federal jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, convicted a Kentucky man of providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and receiving military-type training from ISIS. ISIS is a designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on June 3, 2014, Mirsad Hariz Adem Ramic, 34, and two co-conspirators coordinated their departure from the United States, arriving separately in Istanbul, Turkey. They abandoned the rest of their purchased travel itineraries, and purchased tickets to fly to Gaziantep, Turkey. Gaziantep is located near the Turkey-Syrian border, and from there, Ramic and the two co-conspirators crossed into Syria and joined ISIS.
The evidence at trial established that after joining ISIS, Ramic attended an ISIS training camp, where he received military-type training. A photograph of Ramic, posted on social media, depicted him, among other things, wearing camouflage clothing and standing in front of a truck outfitted with an anti-aircraft gun and the ISIS flag.
After joining ISIS, Ramic and his co-conspirators remained in contact with each other and discussed, among other things, his use of an anti-aircraft weapon to shoot at planes. Ramic and his co-conspirators also discussed jihad, martyrdom and fighting for ISIS. Ramic, a dual U.S.-Bosnian citizen, joined an ISIS fighting unit comprised primarily of Bosnian foreign fighters, and participated in an ISIS offensive in Kobane, Syria.
Ramic has been in federal custody since December 2021, after being deported to the United States from Turkey.
Ramic is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5 and faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison, a fine of $750,000 and a term of supervised release up to life. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett for the Western District of Kentucky and Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
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