Man pleads guilty to trying to help friend join IS

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A Virginia taxi driver pleaded guilty Monday to charges he tried to help a friend join the Islamic State group.

Mahmoud A.M. Elhassan of Woodbridge was arrested in January, as was his friend, Joseph Farrokh, after a government sting. The two had been in regular contact with a government informant who they believed could help them travel to Syria to join the Islamic State, prosecutor Dennis Fitzpatrick said.

At a plea hearing Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Elhassan admitted driving Farrokh in January to the Richmond airport, where they believed they would face less scrutiny from security and where Farrokh planned to start a trip to Syria. Elhassan also admitted he lied to federal agents who interviewed him about the true nature of Farrokh's trip.

Prosecutors said Monday they believe Elhassan also planned to travel to join the Islamic State at a later date. Elhassan's attorney, Thomas Durkin, disputed the assertion Elhassan ever had a serious intention of joining the group.

Farrokh already has been sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison, and renounced his support of the Islamic State.

Similarly, Durkin said Elhassan's support of the Islamic State was an aberration brought on by significant personal problems, including the recent death of his mother, that left him more receptive to a message of religious zealotry.

Elhassan struck no plea bargain in making his guilty pleas at Monday's hearing. He pleaded guilty to a count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group and a count of making false statements. But a terror conspiracy count remains unresolved and set for trial in January.

Durkin said after the hearing he is surprised the Justice Department still seems set on bringing the final count to trial, given a conviction would be unlikely to result in a substantially different sentence. But he said he is prepared to go to trial if necessary.