U.S. federal prosecutors Thursday indicted a Minnesota man for allegedly providing support for Islamic State and lying to the FBI in a terror investigation.
Nineteen year-old Hamza Naj Ahmed heard the three-count indictment in a federal court in the city of St. Paul.
Ahmed was arrested in November when he and three other suspects took a bus from Minneapolis to New York, where they attempted to fly to Turkey, apparently on their way to Syria.
Ahmed is accused of lying to federal agents when he denied knowing his three companions.
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Andrew Luger, said Thursday Ahmed is at least the fourth person charged in an ongoing investigation into people attempting to go to Syria to join a foreign terrorist group.
He said dozens from Minneapolis and St. Paul have flown overseas or have tried to in support of terror.
"While my office will continue to prosecute those who attempt to provide material support to Islamic State or any other terrorist organization, we remain committed to working with dedicated community members to bring this cycle to an end," Luger said.
Officials from Minneapolis, which has a large Somali population, were part of this week's White House summit on extremism, where President Barack Obama called on cities to engage bored and jobless youths who may be lured by terrorist groups.
