Former Westland Man Found Guilty To Providing Material Support To ISIS
Monday, June 9, 2025, 9:15 A.M. ET. 4 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges: Englebrook Independent News,
DETROIT, MI.- A 37-year-old former Westland, Michigan, man is facing up to 35 years in federal prison after being convicted last Tuesday in Federal Court in Detroit, Michigan, for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, ISIS.
According to U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, following a five-week trial, a federal jury for the Eastern District of Michigan found Aws Mohammed Naser, 37, formerly of Westland, Michigan, guilty of Attempting to Provide Material Support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham commonly known as ISIS; and Being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Destructive Devise, Convicted Felon.
The jury deliberated for just around six hours before unanimously finding that Naser attempted to provide material support to ISIS in the form of himself and services, knowing that ISIS is a designated foreign terrorist organization and that ISIS engages in terrorism. Additionally, the jury concluded that Naser, a previously convicted felon, possessed a destructive device.
Evidence Presented At Trial
The evidence presented at the trial revealed that Naser became radicalized and frequently posted extreme Salafi-Jihadist ideological content on his YouTube channel. Naser developed a close relationship with Russell Dennison, an aspiring Salafi-Jihadist preacher, and the two jointly traveled to Iraq in early 2012.
Naser Returns To Michigan
In August 2012, Naser returned to Michigan while Dennison traveled to Syria and joined the foreign terrorist organization Al Nusrah Front, an Islamic State of Iraq-affiliate group that was a precursor to ISIS. Once back in the United States, Naser began preparations to join Dennison, and the two continued to communicate and discussed the terror group’s urgent need for money to acquire firearms.
Dennison is believed to have been killed in 2019 while with ISIS in Syria. Naser attempted to leave the United States for Syria on two occasions. First, in November 2012, he was not permitted to board the plane at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Undeterred, Naser purchased another one-way plane ticket departing from Chicago O’Hare Airport bound for Beirut, Lebanon, in January 2013. Hours before his scheduled flight to Lebanon, Naser robbed a gas station.
After the robbery, Naser took a bus to Chicago and attempted to board his flight to Lebanon with $2,000 in his possession but was again denied boarding and returned to Michigan. Naser was subsequently charged and convicted of armed robbery and served a three-year prison sentence.
After being released from prison and unable to travel to join ISIS, Naser focused his attention on how to support ISIS in the United States. Naser surreptitiously created social media accounts and joined invitation-only ISIS supporters’ chatrooms, groups, and private rooms, where he obtained and viewed official ISIS media reports, publications, and other jihadi propaganda.
He further solicited and obtained information on explosives and experimented with manufacturing explosives and operating drones. In October 2017, Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Naser’s home and vehicle and recovered a readily assembleable destructive device.
U.S. Attorney Gorgon stated, “Defendant Aws Mohammed Naser is a bombmaker and self-avowed ‘son of the Islamic State’—a vicious foreign terrorist organization hell-bent on murdering Americans and destroying our way of life. Naser tried to travel and fight for ISIS overseas but was turned away. So, Naser turned his fight inward on America, gathered drones, and built a bomb in his basement. But our office is dedicated to finding and applying the full force of the law against any terrorist, like Naser, plotting to harm Americans.”
When sentenced, Naser faces up to 20 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and up to 15 years in prison for possessing a destructive device. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offenses and Naser’s prior criminal history.
“The conviction of Aws Mohammed Naser highlights the FBI’s strong commitment to protecting the United States from those who wish to harm our citizens,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Anyone who associates with a terrorist organization or supports violent extremism will be identified, disrupted, and prosecuted. I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the FBI Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, its partner agencies, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for their diligent investigative efforts and successful prosecution. We will continue to safeguard our community and protect our nation from those who pose a threat.
