February 11, 2025 - 3:05 PM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday after officials say he tried to board a flight overseas to join the Islamic State Group last year.
Authorities arrested Alexander Justin White, a U.S. citizen from Durham, at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Dec. 4 after a monthslong investigation revealed his intention to travel to Morocco to join the Islamic State Group, federal prosecutors said.
White pleaded guilty in the U.S. Eastern District of North Carolina court to conspiring to provide and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
White could face up to 20 years in prison, officials said.
Suspicion into White's support for the Islamic State Group arose over the course of last year when he posted several pro-IS photos and videos on Facebook, prosecutors said. He also went by Sulaiman Al-Amriki — which means Sulaiman the American — on his social media, authorities said.
During that period, White sent several private messages expressing his support for IS and his wishes to travel to Africa and the Middle East to join the group to multiple Facebook users who claimed to be from the region, according to authorities. White also communicated extensively with an undercover FBI agent for several months, where prosecutors say he mentioned wanting to join IS and participated in a staged video call that White believed was with an IS commander’s spokesperson.
Eventually, White revealed to the agent that he booked a flight to Rabat, Morocco. He told the agent that he bought a round-trip flight to not raise suspicions, prosecutors said.
On Dec. 4, White arrived at RDU Airport and passed through security, authorities said. He was later arrested while boarding his plane, according to officials.
News from © The Associated Press, 2025