Virginia teen gets 11 years for supporting Islamic State
Source: Reuters
A Virginia teenager who used social media to support the militant group Islamic State was sentenced to just over 11 years in federal prison on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Ali Amin, 17, of Manassas, was the first minor prosecuted by the United States in such a case. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton handed down a 136-month sentence in a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, the department said in a statement.
Todays sentencing demonstrates that those who use social media as a tool to provide support and resources to ISIL will be identified and prosecuted with no less vigilance than those who travel to take up arms with ISIL, U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said, using an acronym for the militant group.
Amin, who used the Twitter handle @Amreekiwitness, pleaded guilty in June to using Twitter and his blog to show how to use the virtual currency Bitcoin to send funds to the militants.
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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/virginia-teen-gets-11-years-for-supporting-islamic-state/
Heinz_Golderian
(11 posts)What kind of jail terms are they handing out of the people that delivered U.S. taxpayer funded weapons to the Middle East that end up in the hands of ISIL?
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)the last sentence in the article, above:
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)GOLGO 13
(1,681 posts)Slam dunk for the good guys.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)I think about WHAT was being supported, and I shudder.
What kind of person is this teenager? No one can fairly claim they don't know about the slavery, the beatings, the torture-murders, the execution of gay people, the rape, the slavery, and the abuse of young children.
Coventina
(27,121 posts)FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)Maybe it'll make others think twice before helping murderous raping assholes.
d_legendary1
(2,586 posts)Don't support terrorism!
Syzygy321
(583 posts)ISIS kids.
On one hand, it's no joke to sponsor murderous madmen or to lure others off to their bloody deaths. So it should be punished severely.
OTOH, It's normal for kids to get fired up about adventure and idealism and wanting to change the world, and to romanticize reality and latch on to Grand Causes. And to be easily manipulated and played by expert handlers.
So, they're terrorists. But also, they're just kids.
I dunno. As with most things, I don't see one right answer.