A former member of the National Guard was arrested Sunday for allegedly attempting to assist ISIS.
The Department of Justice said that Mohamad Bailor Jalloh tried to assist the group get weapons “to be used in what he believed was going to be an attack on U.S. soil” on behalf of the organization.
Jalloh, 26, made his first appearance in federal court in Virginia on Tuesday afternoon. He was flanked by three U.S. Marshals and spoke only to acknowledge that his lawyer was Ashraf Nubani. He did not enter a plea and Nubani did not comment.
Jalloh will remain detained until his next court appearance next Tuesday.
According to the Justice Department, Jalloh first came to the attention of authorities after an ISIS member who has since died brokered a meeting between him and a so-called “confidential human source” working on behalf of the FBI.
Jalloh apparently had told the source that he left the Army National Guard after listening to lectures on the Internet by late Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar al-Awlaki.
In May, Jalloh mentioned to the source that “it was better to plan an operation for the month of Ramadan,” according to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department said Jalloh made “multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain firearms” while traveling in North Carolina last month.
Last week, Jalloh allegedly purchased a Stag Arms assault rifle from a gun dealership in northern Virginia, although the weapon was “rendered inoperable before he left the dealership with the weapon,” authorities said. The next day, he was arrested.
Jalloh has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the day on which Jalloh was arrested.