Ahmad Khalil Elshazly faces 15 years for attempting to join ISIS

The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that a federal court sentence Ahmad Khalil Elshazly to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Elshazly, a resident of West Haven, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Elshazly was arrested by the FBI in December 2019 while attempting to board a boat intended to smuggle him to Turkey, a route he planned to use to reach Syria and join ISIS. Prosecutors noted that he had spent over a year deliberately seeking ways to join the group, including attempting to travel through Jordan and Saudi Arabia under the guise of a Hajj pilgrimage.

Additionally, prosecutors stated that Elshazly administered a pro-ISIS Discord server used to disseminate extremist content, such as execution videos and bomb-making guides. In a sentencing memorandum, the government noted that there is no evidence Elshazly has deradicalized during his detention, citing the discovery of handwritten plans for an inmate uprising found in his cell in August 2025.