(Chicago Tribune) Nearly seven years after the feds raided his Northwest Side home, a Chicago IT specialist was convicted Friday of helping the Islamic State terrorist group through a media campaign that encouraged attacks, celebrated beheadings and other gruesome violence and taunted Western culture with memes like a headless Santa delivering a bomb.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey issued his verdict following a rare bench trial that began last month, convicting Ashraf al Safoo on 11 counts, including providing material support to a terrorist organization, conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate commerce, and computer fraud.
Al Safoo faces up to 130 years behind bars when he’s sentenced on Oct. 9.
In his brief ruling from the bench, Blakey called the evidence at trial “overwhelming.”
