“This defendant willingly traveled to Syria, joined ISIS, and attended a terrorist training camp,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Today’s verdict demonstrates to anyone who would seek to contribute to ISIS’s terrorist activities that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will be unwavering in its mission to protect the American people by identifying, disrupting, and bringing them to justice.”
Evidence provided during the trial established that Musaibli, originally born in Dearborn, moved to Yemen in April 2015. From Yemen, he traveled to Syria in the fall of 2015 where he attended an ISIS-run religious training camp before undergoing military training where he learned to shoot, carry and otherwise handle a machine gun. Upon graduation from the ISIS military training camp, Musaibli swore allegiance to ISIS and its leader and remained with ISIS for over two and half years. Musaibli was eventually captured by Syrian Democratic Forces in 2018 and turned over to the FBI and flown back to the United States to face terrorism related charges.