Authorities say three Florida men planned to travel to Syria and become fighters for the Islamic State.
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The Department of Justice has charged three Palm Beach County men with conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS.
An FBI report says the three told an informant past year about plans to go to Syria, and spoke approvingly of terror attacks in Orlando, San Bernardino, California, and elsewhere.
“Vigilance among our people is essential, but so is equipping our law enforcement and intelligence agencies with all the tools they need to not only stop attacks but also track down all the people that were also involved. I congratulate the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other members of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies involved with this arrest”.
Hubbard and two other men, Dayne Antani Christian, 31 years old, and Darren Arness Jackson, 50 years old, used code words like “soccer team” to describe ISIS and spoke approvingly of terrorist attacks and mass shootings like the Pulse nightclub massacre and the recent truck attack in France, according to the complaint.
Christian was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A detention hearing has been set for Wednesday, and the defendants will be arraigned on August 5.
According to the allegations in the complaint, Hubbard expressed support for ISIL and told an Federal Bureau of Investigation confidential human source (CHS) that he wanted to travel to Syria and join ISIS for the goal of engaging in violent jihad. Over the next few months, the two met regularly, discussing recent terrorist attacks and listening to sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, a USA citizen and Islamic preacher who was killed by a US drone strike inYemen in 2011. Hubbard introduced Christian and Jackson to the source. The FBI informant also purchased a ticket to accompany Hubbard on his voyage.
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According to the FBI, Hubbard was arrested July 21 at Miami International Airport when he attempted to board a flight to Germany.
