Brooklyn Jury Convicts Halima Salman of Receiving Military-Style Training From ISIS in Syria; She Faces Up to 10 Years
Fox says the trial was believed to be the first of a woman accused of joining ISIS in a U.S. federal court. The defense says she was drawn in by her father and husband. Sentencing is set for Feb. 2.
A federal jury in Brooklyn on Tuesday convicted Halima Salman of knowingly receiving military-style training from ISIS while living in Syria, Fox News reports.
The verdict. Salman, 27, a U.S. citizen and former Brooklyn resident also known as "Umm Khattab al-Muhajir," faces up to 10 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 2. Fox says the case was believed to be the first time a woman accused of joining ISIS stood trial in a U.S. federal court. Jurors had said they were struggling to reach a unanimous verdict and were sent back twice to keep deliberating.
The government's case. Prosecutors say her parents took her and her eight siblings out of the United States in 2016 and into ISIS-controlled Syria. The Justice Department says she was 18 when she married an ISIS fighter and voluntarily sought training. It says she pledged loyalty to ISIS, was authorized to carry an assault rifle and was given a document certifying she had finished the training. That document was recovered from her husband's cellphone. Jurors saw video of her holding an assault rifle, a photo of her with an ISIS flag and supportive text messages to her husband.
The prosecutor's statement. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York said, "With today's verdict, Salman is held accountable for joining forces with a terrorist organization. ISIS ravaged Syria and caused havoc across the globe; our Office will continue to prosecute those who supported its murderous reign."
The defense. Her lawyers portrayed her as a teenager pulled into Syria's civil war by her father and then her husband. Salman, born in Brooklyn, testified that she thought the family was visiting relatives in Turkey. "I do blame my father for a lot of things that happened," she said, and "You try to leave, it is death." She said she eventually fled with other refugees and separated from her husband. She was detained in Baghouz in 2019 by forces fighting ISIS and was arrested by U.S. authorities after returning to New York in 2024.
What is next. Her attorneys have asked the judge to set aside the verdict and acquit her, arguing the evidence was legally insufficient, according to The Associated Press as cited by Fox.
Note for readers: the verdict is the jury's finding. The defense's account of her motives and the pending acquittal motion are part of the record, and the judge has not ruled on that motion.