A
Texas man was charged today with conspiring to provide material support
to a foreign terrorist organization. Assistant Attorney General John C.
Demers of the National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox
for the Northern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Eric
Jackson of the FBI’s Dallas Division made the announcement.
Michael Kyle Sewell, 18, of Arlington, Texas, was charged today by
criminal complaint in Fort Worth, Texas, with conspiring to provide
material support and resources to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a
Pakistani-based foreign terrorist organization. Sewell has been
detained pending further court proceedings.
“Sewell allegedly used social media to recruit and encourage an
individual to travel overseas to join a foreign terrorist organization
and conspired with that person to provide material support to that
organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “The National
Security Division is committed to hold accountable those who engage in
this behavior.”
“We stay on constant alert for radicals plotting attacks targeting
citizens of the United States, here or abroad,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy
Cox. “Countering terrorist threats is our highest priority, and we
will continue to work to stem the flow of foreign fighters abroad and
bring justice to those who attempt to provide material support to
foreign terror organizations. I would like to thank the FBI and our
Joint Terrorism Task Force partners for all that they do to keep our
communities safe.”
“The men and women of FBI Dallas along with our local, state, and
federal partners will continue to work diligently against homegrown
violent extremists who provide support to any foreign terrorist
organization,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jackson. “As threats
are uncovered to the community we serve, the FBI and its partners must
continue to ensure we are vigilant and determined to prevent any harm to
this great nation.”
As set forth in the complaint, Sewell recruited an individual,
identified in the complaint as coconspirator 1, to join LeT, a
designated foreign terrorist organization. Sewell met the coconspirator
online and encouraged him to join LeT.
Sewell provided the coconspirator with contact information for an
individual who he believed could facilitate the coconspirator’s travel
to join the organization. Unbeknownst to Sewell and the coconspirator,
the facilitator was an undercover FBI agent.
Sewell coached the coconspirator about what to say to convince the
facilitator that he was sincere in his desire to fight for LeT. Sewell
also contacted the facilitator to vouch for the coconspirator’s
authenticity. Sewell told both the coconspirator and the facilitator
that he would kill the coconspirator if he turned out to be a spy.
The coconspirator made contact with the facilitator and made
arrangements with the facilitator to travel to Pakistan to join LeT.
The FBI and its Joint Terrorism Task Force members; including the
Arlington Police Department, the Fort Worth Police Department, the
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, the Naval Criminal Investigation
Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Texas Department
of Public Safety; investigated the case.
