Mississippi Woman, Who Allegedly Attempted to Join the Islamic State, to Plead Guilty to Terror Charges

In this Oct. 5, 2012 photo, Jaelyn Young, an honor student at Warren Central High School,
Melanie Thortis/The Vicksburg Evening Post via the AP

A Mississippi woman, who was arrested last summer for attempting to fly to Syria to join the Islamic State, is set to plead guilty to federal terrorism charges, court documents show.

The 20-year-old suspect, Jaelyn Delshaun Young, was arrested on August 8 of last year along with her 22-year-old beau, Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, at an airport near Columbus, Mississippi. Federal authorities said the pair intended to join the Islamic State forces in Syria. They were officially charged with attempting and conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist group.

Federal investigators found a long series of Internet communications showing Young’s efforts to arrange passage for herself and her paramour as well as communications between the young woman and representatives of the ISIS terror group in the Middle East.

Now it is being reported that Young, the daughter of a Vicksburg, MS, police officer, is set to plead guilty to the charges in a federal court. She faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Dakhlalla, Young’s fiancé, already pleaded guilty to similar charges earlier this month and will be sentenced later this year.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

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