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US Teen Pleads Guilty To Teaching ISIS About Bitcoin Via Twitter

jfruh writes: Ali Shukri Amin, a 17-year-old from Virginia, has pleaded guilty to charges that he aided ISIS by giving the group advice about using bitcoin. An odd and potentially troubling aspect of the charges is that this all took place in public — he Tweeted out links to an article on his blog about how bitcoin and Darknet could help jihadi groups, making it difficult to say whether he was publishing information protected under free speech or was directly advising the terrorist organization. Free speech qua speech isn't the only relevant charge, though: Amin "also admitted facilitating the travel of another teenager, 18-year-old Reza Niknejad, to Syria to join IS. Amin faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison if convicted."

8 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Great by retchdog · · Score: 3, Informative

    You're right. Treason is constitutionally punishable by death, after all. We could avoid that problem rather easily.

    --
    "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
  2. Re:Did he tweet... by Rei · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the statement which he pled guilty to:

    4. At all relevant times, the defendant knew that ISIL was a designated terrorist organization, and that it was a violation of United States law to provide support and resources to ISIL.

    THE DEFENDANT'S USE OF @.AmreekiWitness IN FURTHERANCE OF HIS CONSPIRACY TO SUPPORT ISIL

    5. On or about June 26, 2014, the defendant started the Twitter account: @AmreekiWitness, which boasted over 4,000 followers. The defendant used the account as a pro-ISIL platform during the course of over 7,000 'tweets.' Specifically, the defendant used this account to conduct twitter-based conversations regarding ways to develop financial support for ISIL using on-line currency, such as Bitcoin, and ways to establish a secure donation system or fund for ISIL.

    6. The following are examples of the defendant's use of Twitter in furtherance of his conspiracy to provide material support to ISIL:

    a. On or about July 7, 2014, using the @AmreekiWitness account, the defendant tweeted a link to an article he authored entitled "Bitcoin wa' Sadaqat al-Jihad" (Bitcoin and the Charity of Jihad). The link transferred the user to the defendant's blog, where the article was posted. The article discussed how to use bitcoins and how jihadists could utilize this currency to fund their efforts. The article explained what bitcoins were, how the bitcoin system worked and suggested using Dark Wallet, a new bitcoin wallet, which keeps the user of bitcoins anonymous. The article included statements on how to set up an anonymous donations system to send money, using bitcoin, to the mujahedeen.

    b. On approximately August 1, 2014, the defendant showed support for ISIL and his desire to help garner financial support for those wanting to commit jihad. Through @AmreekiWitness the defendant discussed methods to provide financial support for those wanting to commit jihad and for those individuals trying to travel overseas.

    c. On approximately August 19, 2014, the defendant showed support for ISIL and desire to support ISIL. The defendant tweeted that the khilafah needed an official website "ASAP," and that ISIL could not continue to release media "in the wild" or use "JustPaste." Through various tweets, the defendant provided information on how to prevent the website from being taken down, by adding security and defenses, and he solicited others via Twitter to assist on the development of the website.

    7. The defendant also operated an Amreeki Witness page on the website ask.fm. The defendant used these accounts extensively as a platform to proselytize his radical Islamic ideology, justify and defend ISIL's violent practices, and to provide advice on topics such as jihadists travel to fight with ISIL, online security measures, and about how to use Bitcoin to finance themselves without creating evidence of crime, among other matters.

    8. The defendant also created the pro-ISIL blog entitled, "Al-Khilafah Aridat." On this blog, the defendant authored a series of highly-technical articles targeted at aspiring jihadists and ISIL supporters detailing the use of security measures in online communications to include use of encryption and anonymity software, tools and techniques, as well as the use of the virtual currency Bitcoin as a means to anonymously fund ISIL.

    THE DEFENDANT'S FACILITATION OF RN'S TRAVEL TO SYRIA

    9. RN, a co-conspirator, is an 18-year-old resident of Prince William County, Virginia.

    10. Beginning in or around September 2014, the defendant began an effort to convert RN to a radical form of Islam.

    11. In or about late November or early December 2014, the defendant put RN in touch with an ISIL supporter located outside of the United States via Surespot in order to facilitate RN's travel to Syria to join and fight with ISIL.

    12. The defendant arranged for this ISIL supporter located overseas to send RN a package containing a phone for RN's use during his travel to Syria, an encrypted thumb drive, and a letter.

    13. On or ab

    --
    "99 dead duelists of Dios on the wall. 99 dead duelists of Dios! Take one's ring, pass it around..."
  3. Re:Mixture by Rei · · Score: 4, Informative

    ISIL is a "designated terror organization". It is a crime to support a designated terrorist organization.

    --
    "99 dead duelists of Dios on the wall. 99 dead duelists of Dios! Take one's ring, pass it around..."
  4. Re:Knowledge by Rei · · Score: 4, Informative

    Where do you draw the line? Somewhere long before you get to here.

    --
    "99 dead duelists of Dios on the wall. 99 dead duelists of Dios! Take one's ring, pass it around..."
  5. Re:ISIS is the bad guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah, and check out who the good guys are now. The charade can go on indefinitely...

    OK, feel free to actually pay attention to the news coming out of Syria and then do that retroactively for a few years.

    If you're clueless, seriously, go research it. This is a multipolar conflict. We never ever armed or allied with Al Nusra or ISIS. ISIS came from an org that we did our best to destroy and actually the entire surge was based more or less around destroying them and coopting former insurgents. The whole country (Iraq) fought against these guys. and then we left and it all went to shit. They moved next door and were heavily infiltrated by former Batthist intelligence and military guys. It's a long story.

    I used to say shit like that all of the time, in the early days of the Iraq War. And then I spent a few years reading news and analysis all day, and I realized that it was far more complicated than this reductionist conspiracy bullshit. There are many sides in this war, not just two. Quite a lot of the guys fighting Assad are actually moderates. These are the guys we tried to arm. Many of them were killed and coopted by ISIS and Al Nusra. If you can't wrap your head around the actual dynamic at work here, how messy of a civil war this is, then you should seriously read more about it and branch out from obvious left-wing, right-wing, and conspiracy sites.

    Am I fully aware of the past crimes of the CIA? Oh, fuck yeah. Have I read Chomsky and shit? Yes. The neocons were full of it, and I was against all of these wars. We created this mess in a very large way. But is Assad a monster? Yes! If you think the opposite, you have most likely fallen for his propaganda, of which there is a lot. Is ISIS complete madness and yet half Baathist... and quite possibly possessing serious military genius? Yup! Is Al Nusra a better option? Actually yeah, but they're still fucked up. The point being, it's seriously complicated over there, and reducing this situation to the CIA making this shit up and it all being a charade for.... for what I'm not sure... but this doesn't at all fit the facts. It sure as shit fits a dumb conspiracy narrative which will conveniently ignore the facts.

  6. Re:Laugh by Rei · · Score: 4, Informative

    He already is - read the sort of stuff he's writing. He's damned lucky that they're not charging him as a member of a terrorist organization rather than, basically, their Booster Club.

    --
    "99 dead duelists of Dios on the wall. 99 dead duelists of Dios! Take one's ring, pass it around..."
  7. Re:Great by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 5, Informative
    The U.S. Constitution says no such thing. Quit making shit up. Article III, Section 3 (omitting the second half which is all about punishment, not conviction):

    Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

    If you levy war against the U.S., it doesn't matter if the U.S. has declared war against you. And you don't actually have to be making war, that's just one way of being labelled a traitor.

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
  8. Re:Mixture by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

    The quality and safety of drugs sold via anonymous markets like Silk Road are much better than those sold person to person. For example, cocaine sold "on the street" in the UK ranges from about 5 to 20% pure on average, where as Silk Road regularly averaged about 60%. Silk Road was also much safer and much less likely to result in the buyer becoming the victim of violence, and the prices were generally a bit lower too.

    The key was that although anonymous Silk Road did allow sellers to be rated and reviewed. It is possible to be anonymous and still ensure quality.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC