A 42-year-old Dallas, Texas, man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison following a conviction for multiple terrorism charges.
Following a three-and-a-half day trial, Said Azzam Mohamad Rahim, a 42-year-old United States citizen, was convicted in May of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), one count of attempting to provide material support to an FTO, and six counts of making false statements involving international terrorism to federal authorities.
“Rahim spread the violent message of ISIS online,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “He also attempted to travel to support ISIS and then lied to FBI when questioned about his activities. This sentence is the consequence of his criminal activities and a clear message to others who would consider following in his footsteps: don’t.”
“Mr. Rahim embraced a warped ideology on social media, promoting violence against innocent people, including Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox for the Northern District of Texas. “The Justice Department is committed to combatting terror at home and abroad.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Rahim moderated a social media channel dedicated to recruiting fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, a State Department designated terror group.
Rahim used Zello, a push-to-talk direct messaging application, to promote violence in ISIS’s name, prosecutors said.
Records showed he spent years on Zello’s “State of the Islamic Caliphate” channel, where he touted acts of terror under various monikers:
“Kill and do not consult anyone,” he said in July 2016. “Kill by any means, smash his head on the wall, spit in his face, burn -- I mean anything, anything – poison, anything.”
