Durham man supported ISIS, intended to travel to Morocco to join group, federal prosecutors say :: WRAL.com
A Durham man was charged by federal authorities with supporting ISIS and later attempting to join the group, according to court documents that were unsealed on Tuesday.
According to federal prosecutors, 29-year-old Alexander Justin White, who went by the name Sulaiman Al-Amriki online, started posting his support for ISIS on his Facebook account between May and October 2024.
Court documents submitted by prosecutors also claim White, who lived on University Drive in Durham, posted a video in July 2024 on his Facebook page “glorifying what is assessed to be ISIS.” White also sent an undercover federal agent a screenshot of a pro-ISIS EMA channel claiming to fundraise for detained ISIS members and their dependents.
The documents claim White openly discussed his desire to travel overseas and join ISIS with several people on Facebook, adding White spoke with a user claiming to be from Morocco who could help him join the group between June and August 2024.
Court records show White bought several firearms, including pistols and rifles, five years earlier and trained with several of them, according to photos in the complaint.
In other conversations with the undercover agent, White discussed additional plans for travel, including what to do with his personal belongings and any necessary equipment for personal use while overseas, including personal combat medical kits for White’s use after joining ISIS.
White later filmed a video of himself pledging his support for ISIS and sent it to what he believed was a commander in the group.
On Sept. 24, prosecutors say White spoke with a “confidential human source (CHS)” from the FBI posing as a spokesperson for an ISIS commander.
When asked if he was sure about joining the group, White responded he did and felt it was for him, but added he was concerned about talking to the wrong people and getting in trouble.
The undercover agent then asked White if he was okay with killing members of the U.S. Military or U.S. citizens. White then stated, “If it was a family member I would still fight back with them…There is no US troops love for homeland or any of this thing.”
Later, investigators confirmed that White booked flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Paris, France, and Rabat, Morocco, on Dec. 4, 2024, with his return to RDU scheduled on Dec. 18.
In the complaint, federal authorities said White likely purchased a round-trip ticket to avoid suspicion, a common practice among Islamic extremists.
FBI agents arrested White at 7:50 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2024, after he cleared the gate and tried boarding the plane.
White is charged with conspiring to provide and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS.
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