A father and son -- both United States citizens -- have been charged with "material support violations" related to their support for a foreign terrorist organization.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday said Emraan Ali, 53, and Jihad Ali, 19, had their first appearances in court in the Southern District of Florida. The DOJ said Emraan Ali was born in Trinidad & Tobago and Jihad Ali was born in New York.
According to the criminal complaints, Emraan Ali traveled to Syria in March 2015 with his family, including Jihad Ali, to join ISIS. Both of them received military and religious training and served as fighters in support of ISIS, according to the DOJ.
The complaint said Emraan Ali also served in other roles in support of ISIS. According to the complaint, Jihad Ali was 14 or 15 years old when he attended ISIS military training.
In March 2019, the DOJ said Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces near Baghuz.
The investigation and charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan, FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Miami Field Office George Piro and members of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Del Toro and Jonathan Kobrinski with assistance from the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.
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