Dallas

Richardson Man Accused of Supporting ISIS, Making False Statements to FBI

Federal prosecutors allege man lied about supporting ISIS, terrorism

A federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment Wednesday against a Richardson man charged with six counts of making false statements to federal agents investigating his alleged support of ISIS and terrorist activity.

John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Eric Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office of the FBI, announced the indictment Thursday.

The charges stem from statements 40-year-old Said Azzam Mohamad Rahim made to federal law enforcement officers during a terrorism investigation on March 5.

The federal indictment said during that investigation Rahim lied when he was asked about alleged support for ISIS and earlier statements relating to violence and terrorist activity.

Rahim was arrested earlier this month on a criminal complaint and is in custody pending trial. A trial date has not been set.

The maximum statutory penalty for each count alleged in the indictment is eight years in federal prison, a period of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI is handing the investigation.

Rahim's attorney, James Whalen, released the following statement to NBC 5:

"In today's political climate, allegations such as those made against Mr. Rahim can cause people to jump to conclusions. However, it is critical to remember that, as a citizen of this country, Mr. Rahim enjoys many constitutional rights, one of which being the presumption of absolute innocence. We are still in the very early stages of this case, but look forward to defending Mr. Rahim, and protecting all of his constitutional rights to the very best of our ability."

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