(Chicago Tribune) A north suburban man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in federal prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State terrorist group by providing cellphones to an undercover FBI agent to be used as detonators for bombs.
Joseph Jones and his friend Edward [Schimenti were] convicted by a federal jury in 2019 of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
In rejecting prosecutors’ request for a 17-year term, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood said that while any terrorism case is serious, the scheme that Jones was convicted of “was not of comparable severity” as many others where specific violence was planned.
“This is not a case where anyone claims Mr. Jones was actually planning on carrying out a terrorism attack,” Wood said. “And it’s not disputed … that Mr. Jones never actually made contact with anyone directly involved with ISIS.”
