Iraqi-born Palestinian charged with attempting to support terrorists in California
SACRAMENTO - An Iraqi-born Palestinian man previously charged with lying to investigators about traveling to Syria was indicted Thursday on the more serious allegation of trying to support a terrorist group.
A federal grand jury indicted Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, of Sacramento, on the new charge two months after he was arrested in California on accusations of lying about traveling to fight against the Syrian government.
That charge could have brought him up to eight years in prison, but he now faces a maximum 15-year term if convicted of attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
A second man charged in the investigation, Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, of Houston, faces up to 25 years in prison on three charges that he tried to provide material support to the Islamic State group.
