New York man pleads guilty to attempting to join Islamic State
A New York man has pleaded guilty to trying to help Islamic State by traveling to Turkey with the goal of entering Syria and fighting for the militant group, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Arafat Nagi, 47, entered his plea on Monday before US District Judge Richard Arcara in Buffalo, New York, the US Department of Justice said.
"The plea gives the court wide sentencing latitude and we trust the judge to be fair," Jeremy Schwartz, Nagi's lawyer, said in an email. "Mr. Nagi never engaged in violence and he does not wish harm to the United States."
Nagi, of Lackawanna, New York, is scheduled to be sentenced by Arcara on May 7. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
