Connecticut man sentenced to over seven years in prison for attempting to join ISIS

In late September, an Uzbekistan-US dual citizen was also arraigned on charges of conspiring and providing material support to ISIS and the al-Nusra Front terrorist organization.Follow us on GoogleA man types on a keyboard in front of a computer screen on which an Islamic State flag is displayed, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February 6, 2016.(photo credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC)OCTOBER 1, 2026 16:05A 29-year-old Connecticut man who intended to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization was sentenced to over seven years in prison on Wednesday for attempting to provide material support for a designated terrorist organization.According to the US Justice Department, starting in 2018, US citizen Ahmad Khalil Elshazly began expressing interest in traveling to the Middle East to fight on behalf of ISIS.Online and in person, Elshazly swore allegiance to ISIS. He created and administered a pro-ISIS Discord server used to spread hundreds of ISIS memes and videos, along with other extremist propaganda.On December 14, 2019, Elshazly paid $500 to an individual he believed was an ISIS facilitator to smuggle him to Turkey by boat. He planned to connect with an ISIS member in Turkey who would then assist him with traveling to Syria to join ISIS.The next day, Elshazly arrived in Stonington, Connecticut, where he expected to begin his journey to Syria, and was arrested.The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, is displayed at the J. Edgar Hoover Building on August 8, 2026 in Washington, DC. (credit: Kevin Carter/Getty Images)He remained in detention since his arrest and pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist foreign terrorist organization in 2022. Elshazly was sentenced to 92 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for the offenses.US citizen extradited from Georgia to face charges of supporting ISIS, ANFOn September 23, a 41-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan and naturalized US citizen was arraigned on charges of conspiring and providing material support to ISIS and the then-al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front (ANF) terrorist organization after being extradited from Tbilisi, Georgia.ANF was led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who split from al-Qaeda in 2016 to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, and overthrew the Assad regime in December 2024, becoming the Syrian president.Davud Ansariy, also known as “Kozimjon Gafurov” and “Kozim,” is suspected of leading a group of radicalized individuals who planned to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS or ANF and financed such travel.According to the Justice Department, Ansariy’s group was based in Brooklyn, New York, and was referred to by the group's associates as “chayxona,” the Uzbek word for “tea party.”An investigation uncovered that the “tea party” group raised money to fund the travel of individuals seeking to join terrorist organizations and to support the families left by the individuals.Ansariy and the “tea party” group funded the travel of at least three individuals who joined terrorist organizations in Syria in 2013. It is believed that the three individuals were killed in Syria, according to the Justice Department.In May 2016, one of Ansariy’s co-conspirators was arrested, prompting Ansariy to flee the US for Turkey.Ansariy arrested, extradited to New York He remained a fugitive until authorities arrested him in Georgia in August 2026 and extradited him to New York in September.If Ansariy is convicted of the charges, he faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr., thanked the FBI Office of the Law Enforcement Attaché in Tbilisi and the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia for their cooperation in extraditing Ansariy.“As alleged, the defendant facilitated an expansive network that sought to finance the travel of foreign fighters to wage violent jihad,” Nocella said of Ansariy. “His extradition and prosecution should serve as a reminder that our Office and our law enforcement partners will work relentlessly to hold accountable those who would provide support to terrorists seeking to harm the United States.”Follow us on Google