Washington man pleads guilty to attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization

A man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Washington to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Elvin Hunter Bgorn Williams, 21, of Seattle, was arrested May 28, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on criminal charges related to his alleged efforts to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, to engage in violent acts of terrorism in the Middle East or the United States.

Williams was arrested following a lengthy investigation into his efforts to join ISIS. According to his plea agreement, in November 2020, Williams began telling family members he was a member of ISIS. He posted a video on Facebook in which he swore an oath of loyalty to a leader of ISIS. 

Using confidential sources close to Williams, the FBI monitored his activity and became aware of his efforts to travel to the Middle East and join ISIS. Williams expressed to his associates that if he could not travel overseas, he would commit an attack in the United States on behalf of ISIS. Williams began communicating with those he believed were ISIS recruiters who could get him to an ISIS terror cell in the Middle East or other parts of the world.

The plea agreement contains statements Williams made about his intentions: that he sought martyrdom, had “no problem with killing,” and hoped to be involved in beheading others.

In May 2021, Williams obtained a passport and pawned a laptop computer to raise funds for his travel. In early May 2021, Williams booked an airline ticket from Seattle to Amsterdam and on to Egypt to join ISIS. On May 28, 2021, he went to Sea-Tac Airport to catch the first leg of his international flight. Williams was arrested at the departure gate.

Williams pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14 and faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison.