A Colorado man was arrested over the weekend at O'Hare International Airport on charges he allegedly planned to travel overseas and fight on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Department of Justice said Monday.
Jamshid Muhtorov, 35, of Aurora, Colo. was arrested Saturday afternoon by the FBI's terrorism task forces, government officials said in a statement. Muhtorov, a refugee from Uzbekistan who goes by several names, appeared in court Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Muhtorov was charged by criminal complaint of allegedly providing and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic Jihad Union, according to the Department of Justice. He faces a maximum 15-year prison sentence and up to a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The Justice Department said the IJU is a Pakistan-based extremist group that adheres to an anti-western ideology and seeks to replace the current regime with a government based on Islamic law.
Government officials said they do not believe Muhtorov was plotting attacks inside the United States.
Muhtorov’s arrest is the result of a long-term investigation conducted by the FBI’s Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force with investigative support by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, government officials said.
