A former Indiana resident has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.
Samantha Marie Elhassani, aka Samantha Sally, 32, formerly of Elkhart, Indiana, was charged on Aug. 22, in a two-count indictment with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated terrorist organization, and aiding and abetting individuals in providing material support to ISIS, according to the Justice Department.
“My office is committed to aggressively pursuing and prosecuting those who support designated terrorist organizations such as ISIS,” U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch said in a statement. “This indictment is an example of that commitment.”
The indictment alleges that Elhassani traveled abroad and provided money and supplies to two ISIS fighters.
“The seriousness of the charges reflect the gravity of Elhassani’s alleged conduct,” Kirsch added.
From the fall of 2014 through summer of 2015, Elhassani allegedly provided support and resources to ISIS knowing that the organization was a designated terrorist organization and that it engaged in terrorist activity.
Elhassani is also charged with aiding and abetting two individuals, named as person A and B in the indictment, that identify themselves as ISIS members. She allegedly procured tactical gear and provided money in support of those two ISIS members.
In July of 2018, Elhassani was transferred from the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to U.S. law enforcement and charged with making false statements to the FBI in the Northern District of Indiana.
As reported by to the Chicago Tribune, “Attorney Thomas Durkin, of Chicago, was appointed to represent Elhassani.”
“These charges are incredibly wrongheaded and cruel,” Durkin said Thursday. “Samantha is a victim of her jihadist husband. She and her children should be receiving treatment rather than incarceration and separation.”
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Indianapolis Division and the Indianapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
