JACKSON, Miss. — Two Mississippi residents were arrested over the weekend on charges that they were trying to travel abroad to join the Islamic State militant group.
A criminal charge filed Saturday says Jaelyn Delshaun Young, 19, and Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, 22, were arrested that morning at Golden Triangle Regional Airport near Columbus, Mississippi.
Both are charged with attempting and conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist group. A hearing on their detention began Monday in Oxford according to WTVA-TV, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Lamar said it will continue Tuesday. Lamar refused to comment on the case, saying federal officials would release a statement Tuesday.
The charges indicate that both confessed their plans to FBI agents after their arrest Saturday. It was unclear late Monday which lawyers were representing the two.
Both Young and Dakhlalla are U.S. citizens. Mississippi State University spokesman Sid Salter said records show Dakhlalla graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He said Young was enrolled until May as a sophomore chemistry major but had not enrolled for classes since. Young, originally from Vicksburg, was a 2013 honors graduate from Warren Central High School, The Vicksburg Post reported.