North Virginia man pleads guilty to trying to help Islamic State
ALEXANDRIA — A Northern Virginia man pleaded guilty Monday to trying to help the Islamic State extremist group after a sting operation caught him buying gift cards and filming potential landmarks in the Washington region as targets.
Haris Qamar, 26, of Burke, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to a single count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in January, although guidelines will likely point to 12 to 15 years.
Qamar, a U.S. citizen born in Brooklyn, came to authorities’ attention through his support of the Islamic State on Twitter, using variations of the handle “newerajihadi.”
According to court documents, an FBI informant made contact with Qamar, and the two discussed traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State group. Qamar told the informant that he wanted to go but was prevented from doing so by his parents, who controlled his passport. Qamar also said joining the militant organization would devastate his family and might provoke his father to commit suicide.
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