Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to using Twitter to help Islamic State

A 3D printed logo of Twitter and an Islamic State flag are seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. A 3D printed logo of Twitter and an Islamic State flag are seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) – A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty on Monday to posting the names of approximately 100 U.S. military members online and exhorting his Twitter followers to kill them in an effort to support Islamic State.

Jalil Aziz faces up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to two terrorism-related charges in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

U.S. authorities have brought Islamic State-related charges against more than 100 individuals since 2013. An Arizona man was found guilty at trial on Monday of helping a New York City college student travel to Syria, where he died fighting for Islamic State.

Aziz used his Twitter account to release names, addresses, photographs and military branches for the U.S. service members, according to an indictment.

He told his followers to “kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their street thinking that they are safe,” prosecutors said.

All told, Aziz used at least 71 Twitter accounts to disseminate messages in support of the radical group Islamic State, authorities said.

He was initially arrested in December 2015 and charged with trying to help others travel to the Middle East to join Islamic State fighters.

Prosecutors said investigators found a “go bag” at his home containing ammunition, a knife and a black mask.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Andrew Hay)

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