A Mississippi woman who tried to join the Islamic State group sought to apologise at a sentencing on Thursday, tearful as a federal judge ordered her to spend 12 years in prison on a terrorism charge.
Vicksburg native Jaelyn Young, who once sought to disguise a planned journey to Syria as her honeymoon, told US District Judge Sharion Aycock that she finds what she did “surreal,” adding that she felt shame for her actions and sorrow for the humiliation she caused her family.
Aycock, in addition to ordering prison time, also sentenced Young to 15 years of probation, including a requirement that she undergo mental health treatment and that probation officers be allowed to search her electronic devices to ensure she wasn’t engaging in any pro-terrorist activity online.
She and her parents told the judge that Young had turned to Islam amid an emotional crisis she experienced as a chemistry student at the Mississippi State University.
That crisis ultimately led to Young adopting the radical version of Islam espoused by the Islamic State, contacting undercover FBI agents posing as Islamic State members online in May 2015 in an attempt to join the group, and secretly using credit cards to buy tickets to Istanbul for herself and her fiancé, Muhammad Dakhlalla of Starkville.
Dakhlalla pleaded guilty on 11 March to a similar charge and is set to be sentenced on 24 August.
Federal prosecutor Clay Joiner noted that although Dakhlalla helped introduce Young to Islam, it was Young who incited Dakhalla to travel to Syria with her.
Joiner also said Young had acknowledged in farewell letters that she was committing a crime and encouraged Dakhlkalla in prison letters to lie and remain true to a radical vision of Islam.
(Edited for length)
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