in Syria pleads guilty to lesser charge
Ex-U.S. soldier Eric Harroun, who allegedly fought alongside an Al Qaeda affiliate against the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday and was sentenced to time served, The Military Times reported.
Harroun, a Phoenix native, was charged in June with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to use destructive devices overseas, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
Those charges, one of which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted, were reduced to a charge of conspiring to violate arms-control laws, the report said. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton accepted the plea on the lesser charge.
The case posed a political dilemma for the Justice Department. Harroun was fighting for the Syrian rebels, who are supported by the Obama State Department.
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Army veteran charged with joining terrorists in Syria pleads guilty to lesser charge | Fox News
Ex-U.S. soldier Eric Harroun, who allegedly fought alongside an Al Qaeda affiliate against the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday and was sentenced to time served, The Military Times reported.
Harroun, a Phoenix native, was charged in June with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to use destructive devices overseas, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
Those charges, one of which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted, were reduced to a charge of conspiring to violate arms-control laws, the report said. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton accepted the plea on the lesser charge.
The case posed a political dilemma for the Justice Department. Harroun was fighting for the Syrian rebels, who are supported by the Obama State Department.
more
Army veteran charged with joining terrorists in Syria pleads guilty to lesser charge | Fox News