Fort Worth, TX–A Fort Worth man pleaded guilty to a federal terrorism charge, federal prosecutors said.
Michael Kyle Sewell, 18, who was arrested in February, formally pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based foreign terrorist organization also known as LeT.
According to court documents, Sewell admitted to encouraging an individual, identified in court documents only as coconspirator 1, to join LeT.
Sewell then provided the coconspirator, who he spoke to on social media, with contact information for an individual he believed could facilitate the coconspirator’s travel to Pakistan to join LeT. Unbeknownst to Sewell and the coconspirator, the facilitator was an undercover FBI agent.
Sewell and the coconspirator discussed what the coconspirator should say to the undercover agent who posed as the facilitator, in order to gain the facilitator’s trust and be permitted to join LeT. Sewell also contacted the facilitator to vouch for the coconspirator’s authenticity.
Sewell now faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He will be sentenced on Aug. 12 in Fort Worth.
