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Man Who Provided Support To Islamic State Gets 30 Years

Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem
(Photo courtesy of Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)
Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem

A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison today on charges that he provided support to the Islamic State.

Prosecutors were seeking a life sentence for Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, an American-born Muslim convert who became the second person in the U.S. to be convicted of charges of supporting the Islamic State.

Two of his friends were killed in a police shootout outside a prophet Muhammad contest in Garland, Texas, two years ago.

Authorities said Kareem watched videos depicting violence by jihadists with the two friends, and had inquired about explosives to blow up the Glendale stadium where the 2015 Super Bowl was held.

Kareem kept his head down as he was being sentenced. He had earlier told the judge he had nothing to do with the crime.

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.