A Minnesota resident was handed down a ten-year sentence for aiding ISIS, the notorious global terrorist organization, an announcement from U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger stated. Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, a 27-year-old hailing from St. Louis Park, was given 120 months in federal prison followed by an extensive 15-year term of supervised release for his part in providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), confirmed by official court documents.
Traveling to Morocco in June 2015 under the guise of visiting family, Al-Madioum made his clandestine transit to Syria to align himself with ISIS, where he underwent military training, served in a battalion as a soldier until an injury in late 2015 curtailed his active duty, after which he continued his services as a personal database administrator for the organization, his transition from combat to clerical nonetheless keeping him within ISIS ranks until his capture by Syrian Democratic Forces in March 2019; Al-Madioum was brought to U.S. District Court in Minnesota on an indictment on September 16, 2020.
Marking his initial court appearance on said indictment, Al-Madioum pleaded guilty on January 13, 2021, to one count of aiding a designated foreign terrorist group. His sentencing was issued by U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery, and alongside his prison sentence, a generous amount of credit was awarded for his "substantial assistance"—a detail highlighted during the hearings.
This conviction is the culmination of diligent efforts by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter for the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney John Cella from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section leading the prosecution of a case that underlines the persistent threat of radicalization and the journey of a local Minnesotan drawn into the folds of a conflict stretching far beyond the immediate horizon of his home state; the weight of the sentence reflects both the gravity of his actions and the cooperative stance he later adopted in the face of justice.
