Man Gets 20 Years Behind Bars in Connection To ISIS Support

(LibertyInsider.org) – A Federal jury convicted a Tennessee man, Benjamin Carpenter, on October 19, 2023, of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization by publishing and distributing ISIS propaganda, which he translated into a weekly newsletter. Carpenter, also known as Abu Hamza, led Ahlut-Tawhid Publications, a pro-ISIS international organization. On Wednesday, July 17, US District Judge Katherine Crytzer sentenced Carpenter, 34, to 20 years of prison, the maximum sentence.

Carpenter’s weekly newsletter, “From Dabiq to Rome,” glorified suicide bombers, exalted over US military deaths, and openly called for subscribers to incite war against the US and its allies. Prosecutors showed evidence that the defendant made contact with an individual who he believed had an affiliation with ISIS’s central media bureau to offer his translation services.

Tennessee Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS

🔗: https://t.co/3PDcT8inrp pic.twitter.com/nX8OKuAUxq

— National Security Division, U.S. Dept of Justice (@DOJNatSec) July 18, 2024

Communications indicated that Carpenter hoped to assist in reviving the Al-Hayat Media Center, ISIS’s foreign language media platform, in 2020 and 2021. However, the individual he contacted was actually a covert undercover FBI employee.

Writing to Judge Crytzer during the presentencing phase, Carpenter said, “I hope you see I’m not a menace to society.” He claimed that although he held “controversial views,” he hadn’t “harmed anybody” or caused his subscribers to inflict violence.

However, prosecutors painted a very different picture for the judge. They wrote, “In the words of ISIS, it is ‘no exaggeration’ to say that (Carpenter) is a suicide bomber without a belt.” They argued that his dedication to helping ISIS call for war against the US through calls for suicide bombings, kidnappings, and executions only proved the danger he presented to the public.

While Carpenter’s attorney argued for his client to receive only a five-year sentence, which would consider the three years the government held him during his arrest and trial, Crytzer imposed the maximum sentence. Additionally, she ordered 20 years of supervised release to follow the sentence.