A young American couple was arrested in Columbus, Mississippi, over the weekend and charged with conspiring and attempting to join and provide material support to the terrorist Islamic State (ISIS) organisation.
US Magistrate Judge S. Allan Alexander of the Northern District of Mississippi denied bond to couple Jaelyn Delshaun Young, 20, and Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, 22, of Starkville, who appeared in court for their preliminary and detention hearings after they were charged by the US government.
Young is the daughter of Vicksburg police officer Leonce Young, according to a statement by the Vicksburg Police Department sent to WJTV 12.
The FBI began investigating the couple in May when Young expressed to two undercover FBI employees that she and her husband were planning to travel to Syria to join the ISIS. According to court documents, the couple detailed their plans through social media to the undercover FBI employees.
Young told the undercover FBI agent that she and Dakhlalla got married on June 6 and that they were planning to leave for the Middle East before the end of July. "Our story will be that we are newlyweds on our honeymoon," she said
She said they will not be flying directly to Istanbul but instead go to a different country where they will take the bus to Istanbul.
The couple said they have skills that they could use to help ISIS. "I am good with computers, education and media," Dakhlalla allegedly wrote in one message to an FBI employee.
For her part, Young said she is "skilled in math and chemistry and worked at an analytical lab here on my college campus."
She said her "partner is very good with things like computer science/media. We learn very fast and would love to help with giving medical aid."
Court documents also noted that Young praised the July 16 attacks at military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where four Marines and a sailor were killed. "The numbers of supporters are growing," she said in one message to the undercover FBI agent.
Last week, the couple allegedly purchased two plane tickets for a direct flight from Columbus, Mississippi, to Istanbul, Turkey. Authorities arrested them at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, Mississippi on Saturday.
Both "confessed to attempting to travel to Turkey to join ISIS," according to court records.
In the statement by Vicksburg Police, it said Young's father is a 17-year veteran of the police department who has 21 years of experience in the military.
"The family is devastated and it is our understanding had no knowledge of or involvement in Jaelyn's plans," the statement said.
If found guilty, the couple could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
