California Man Ammaad Akhtar Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 30 that Ammaad Akhtar, 34, of Stockton, California, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents, between February and June 2025, Akhtar attempted to provide funds, weapons, and other equipment to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). He communicated online with an undercover officer he believed was a member of ISIS, voicing support for ISIS and jihad, a desire to travel overseas to fight with ISIS, and a desire to send guns and money.
In April 2025, Akhtar provided funding on multiple occasions. After the undercover officer indicated ISIS had procured several guns with the money, Akhtar responded, "May Allah destroy our enemies," and said he would send more money that same day. He also discussed planning violent attacks, including against a specific individual and using homemade explosives at a populated event, and asked for instructions on making an explosive device.
On June 23, 2025, Akhtar met with an individual he believed was an ISIS associate but who was actually an undercover agent. He provided clothing, binoculars, $400 in cash, two loaded guns, and six additional magazines, then swore bayat, a pledge of loyalty, to ISIS. He was arrested and charged the same day.
Akhtar is scheduled to be sentenced on February 26, 2027. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The FBI's New York and Sacramento Field Offices and the New York City Police Department conducted the investigation.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加利福尼亚州斯托克顿市天际线航拍（被告居住地）。Quintinsoloviev 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Aerial view of Stockton, California, where the defendant lives. Photo by Quintinsoloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
