Mississippi Newlyweds Accused Of Plotting To Join ISIS

A hearing on their detention began Monday in U.S. District Court in Oxford according to WTVA-TV, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Lamar said it will continue Tuesday.

Young’s family declined comment Tuesday night and the public defender asked for privacy. An affidavit from an Federal Bureau of Investigation agent says both confessed to the charges after their arrest.

“… Islam is supposedly a religion of peace, and I certainly believe that not every Muslim is a terrorist”, she shares, “but it’s quite clear that every terrorist is a Muslim – and I think that they are being radicalized”.

The court papers say both Young and Dakhlalla are U.S. citizens. “Top of her class, studying to be a doctor”, Worley said.

Young was homecoming maid in high school and an honor student, seemingly an All-american girl.

Dakhlalla’s father, Oda H. Dakhlalla, is the longtime imam of the Islamic Center of Mississippi in Starkville, Harmon said, and has previously been reported to be a native of Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Harmon said Tuesday that the family has been cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The charge states that her Twitter page said the only thing keeping her from traveling to Syria was her need to earn money. They said she even cheered after the shooting in Chattanooga where five service members were killed.

In June, the first Federal Bureau of Investigation agent passed Young off to a second Federal Bureau of Investigation agent posing as an Islamic State facilitator.

Young touted her skills in math and chemistry and said she and Dakhlalla wanted to be medics treating the injured. Young said Dakhlalla could be an asset to the IS’ social media department by more accurately reporting its happenings.

The ADL representative says ISIS has an online army engaging with people in the West promising them a different life. “I am willing to fight”, he is quoted as saying.

In the days leading up to their trip, Young said she wasn’t expecting any trouble at the airport.

In July, Young expressed frustration that authorities were taking so long to approve her and Dakhlalla’s passports, according to the complaint. The pair allegedly planned to travel to Turkey and then cross the border into Syria. They were arrested over the weekend before boarding a flight at an airport in Columbus, Mississippi.