Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS

A man from a north suburb of Chicago was sentenced today to 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, a foreign terrorist organization also known as ISIS.

U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood imposed the sentence on JOSEPH D. JONES, 38, of Zion, Ill.  A jury in 2019 convicted Jones on one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The Zion, Ill., Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The case was investigated by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barry Jonas and David Rojas of the Northern District of Illinois, and Trial Attorney Alexandra S. Hughes of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Evidence at trial revealed that Jones advocated on social media for violent extremism in support of the terrorist group.  In 2015, Jones began meeting with undercover FBI employees and individuals who, unbeknownst to Jones, were cooperating with law enforcement.  During the meetings, Jones discussed his devotion to ISIS and his commitment to ISIS principles.

In 2017, Jones furnished cellular phones to one of the cooperating individuals, believing the phones would be used to detonate explosive devices in ISIS attacks overseas.  On April 7, 2017, Jones drove with the cooperating individual to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, with the understanding that the cooperating individual would be traveling to Syria to fight with ISIS.

A co-defendant, EDWARD SCHIMENTI, 39, of Zion, Ill., was also convicted of the conspiracy charge, as well as a charge of making false statements to the FBI.  Judge Wood set sentencing for Schimenti for April 9, 2021, at 12:30 p.m.