A Brooklyn jury is weighing whether Halima Salman knowingly received military-type training from the Islamic State group, a charge that carries a potential prison term of up to 10 years.
The Associated Press reported that deliberations began Oct. 22. A one-count indictment charges Salman under 18 U.S.C. § 2339D with knowingly receiving military-type training from or on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. Code includes instruction in using firearms or other weapons in its definition of such training. A conviction can result in a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
An FBI agent’s arrest-warrant complaint alleges Salman learned to handle and operate an AK-47-style rifle in Syria around March 2018, when she was about 18. The complaint says the alleged offense period ran from July 2017 to February 2019. It also describes an Arabic-language document found as an image on a device investigators believed belonged to Salman’s then-husband. The agent interpreted the text as indicating Salman had completed military training and qualified to receive ammunition for an AK-47. Courthouse News Service reported that the defense disputed the document’s authenticity.
Prosecutors also presented video showing Salman with an assault rifle, images of her with an Islamic State flag and messages to her then-husband, the AP reported. Courthouse News Service reported that Salman’s lawyers argued no witness testified to seeing her train and challenged the document’s stamp. The outlet also reported that prosecutors argued she chose to train with the group.
Salman’s lawyers maintain that her father brought her to Syria against her will when she was 17. AP reported that Salman was arrested when she returned to the United States in 2024, following years in detention in Syria. The Eastern District of New York calendar lists the case for trial at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 23.
