Updated — Mohamud pled not guilty on Friday. He is being held without bail after his arraignment on Friday morning in Columbus, Ohio.
A federal grand jury charged Columbus, Ohio resident Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, 23, with providing support to a terrorist organization, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Mohamud was charged on one count of providing material support to a terrorist organization and one count of lying to the FBI in an indictment returned in the Southern District of Ohio.
The 23-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen left for Syria in April, 2014. He bought a one-way ticket to Greece, but during a layover in Turkey, he got off the flight and traveled to Syria via Turkey, federal prosecutors said.
According to the FBI's criminal complaint, Mohamud joined terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda in Syria known as Jabhat al-Nusrah. They taught him to shoot firearms, break into houses, and create explosives in a "military-type training camp."
"Mohamed also stated that, after completing this training, he was instructed by a cleric in the organization to return to the United States and commit an act of terrorism," prosecutors said. Mohamud returned to the United States on June 8, 2014. He was arrested on Feb. 21.
"Mohamud's plan was to attack a military facility, and his backup plan was to attack a prison," according to the criminal complaint. "He wanted to go to a military base in Texas and kill three or four American soldiers execution style."
Each charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Mohamud will soon be transferred to a federal holding facility.
