The leader of a Chicago-area street gang admitted in federal court that he attempted on three separate occasions to provide financial support to ISIS.
Jason Brown, who also went by Abdul Ja'Me, attempted to provide $500 in support of ISIS — aka the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham — three separate times in 2019, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) release.
According to court documents, the 41-year-old believed that he had given the money to a confidential source, believing it would be sent to an ISIS soldier in combat in Syria.
However, the individual to whom he provided the money was confidentially working with law enforcement, and the ISIS fighter was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.
LAS VEGAS ‘LONE WOLF’ TERROR ATTACK FOILED BY FBI, POLICE
Along with attempting to support the terror group, Brown admitted that in 2019 he trafficked fentanyl and other illegal drugs from California to the Chicago suburbs.
‘ACTIVE SHOOTER’ AT UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA-LAS VEGAS, WITH ‘MULTIPLE VICTIMS;’ SUSPECT DEAD
The drug trafficker also admitted to illegally possessing several loaded handguns to further his illegal activities.
According to the criminal complaint, Brown was the leader of the AHK street gang, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood, and comprised of former members of other gangs, including the Black P Stones, Gangster Disciples, and Four Corner Hustlers.
AHK members trafficked various narcotics in the Chicago area, including a fentanyl analogue, heroin, and cocaine, and often boasted about the gang’s activities on social media, the charges allege.
On Wednesday, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, one count of distributing fentanyl and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Brown faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison for the firearms charge; a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison for the drug charge; and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the terrorism charge.
He is scheduled to be sentenced May 28.
