Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, came to the United States in October, 2012. He left in 2014, as he explained, to visit his grandmother in Turkey. On that trip, however, he rejoined the armed struggle in Syria, in company with terrorists. In his first court appearance in Sacramento, Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab drew some good press as a hip young man fond of fast cars and posing before the Golden Gate Bridge. On January 15, a somewhat different portrait emerged.
A Sacramento Bee report cited documents that emerged during the refugee’s January 15 indictment. On his overseas adventure, the refugee praised acts of violence against Americans and took part in the execution of three Syrian soldiers. Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab boasted of using silencers in the attacks. Friends on the refugee’s Facebook page included supporters of Ansar Al-Islam and ISIS. The FBI found that he corresponded with a site ISIS used to distribute propaganda and communicate with terrorist organizations.
Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab also posted a photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber, and praised him as a Muslim who humiliated the United States, belongs to God’s nation and enjoyed divine protection. According to the Bee report, Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab also praised a deadly 2009 suicide attack against CIA analysts in Afghanistan.
The refugee’s public defender said his client planned no acts of violence in the United States and will plead not guilty to charges of lying to U.S. officials and participating in international terrorism. The January 16 Sacramento Bee report included no quotations from local CAIR director Basim Elkarra, who previously told reporters that nobody in local mosques recognized the Iraqi refugee. The day of his indictment, the FBI released more information on the December 2 San Bernardino attack.