Teen terror suspect arrested at O’hare

CHICAGO (IL) — FBI agents have arrested a southwest suburban teenager for allegedly trying to travel overseas to support terrorism.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Randall Samborn said the 19-year-old Mohammed Hamzah Khan of Bolingbrook appeared in federal court on October 6 morning two days after he was arrested at O’Hare International Airport.

Khan has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically by attempting to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS or ISIL.

Khan, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, appeared in federal court when a judge ordered him held in custody, pending a detention hearing on October 10.

The charge of attempting to support terrorism carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors said Khan was arrested as he was passing through a security checkpoint at O’Hare.

Khan allegedly had purchased a ticket on Austrian Airlines to travel to Vienna, Austria, and then to Istanbul, Turkey. He also purchased a ticket for a return flight from Istanbul to Zurich, Switzerland, and then to Chicago.

However, Khan allegedly told federal agents he planned to stay in the Middle East permanently, and that he knew he would be arrested if he returned to the US.

Khan’s US passport was issued on May 2 of this year.

After Khan was detained at O’Hare, federal agents obtained a warrant to search his home, where they allegedly found hand-written documents there that appeared to be drafted by Khan and/or others, expressing support for ISIL.

The notebook indicated Khan wanted to travel to Syrian border.

“We are the lions of War,” Khan wrote. “My nation, the dawn has emerged.”

The notebook also had a drawing of the ISIL flag.

Prosecutors said Khan also left his parents a three-page note, explaining his trip overseas, and advising them they should not contact the authorities.

“If this were to happen it will jeopardize not only the safety of us but our family as well,” Khan allegedly wrote.

According to a copy of the charges, Khan was “upset that, as an adult, he was obligated to pay taxes that would be used to kill his ‘Muslim brothers and sisters,’” and was angry about “the decline of Western societies.”

“We are all witness that the western societies are getting more immoral day by day. I do not want my kids being exposed to filth like this,” he allegedly wrote. “I extend an invitation, to my family, to join me in the Islamic State.”