SAN DIEGO–The brother of a San Diego man killed fighting with ISIL was arraigned in federal court Thursday on new charges that he made false statements to the FBI in connection with an international terrorism investigation of his brother, an American believed killed while fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.
According to the indictment, Marchello McCain, 33, made false statements to Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force agents about his knowledge of his brother’s travel to Syria and the use of a credit card to purchase Douglas McCain’s airline tickets from the United States to Turkey, a transit point for individuals travelling to Syria. On August 26, 2014, several U.S. media outlets reported that Douglas McCain had been killed in Syria fighting for ISIL in a battle against the Free Syrian Army.
In January 2015, FBI agents arrested Marchello McCain in connection with an indictment charging him with three counts of possession of firearms and ammunition by a felon. A superseding indictment charging him with two additional counts of possession of firearms and ammunition by a felon and one count of possession of body armor by a violent felon was filed against him in March 2015. The second superseding indictment was unsealed today during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan. McCain is currently being held in custody without bond.
Marchello McCain’s next court date is a motion hearing scheduled before District Judge Whelan on October 19.
