SIS supporters who distributed instructions for making bombs sentenced to about two decades in federal prison

San Antonio Express-News, Texas/July 2, 2022

By Caroline Tien

Two men have been sentenced to about two decades in federal prison for their involvement with the terrorist organization ISIS, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Kristopher Sean Matthews, 36, of South Carolina, and Jaylyn Christopher Molina, 24, of Cost, in Gonzales County, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Syria, better known as ISIS. Molina also pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.

Matthews, aka Ali Jibreel, received a 20-year prison term while Molina, also known as Abdur Rahim, will serve 18 years. Molina also received an 18-year sentence on the child pornography charge. The sentences will be served concurrently, the Justice Department said.

“This sentencing serves as a reminder that terrorist organizations such as ISIS and their affiliates remain a threat to the United States in the homeland and abroad,” San Antonio FBI Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. said in the release. “Addressing this threat continues to be the highest priority of the FBI and our Joint Terrorism Task Force partners.”

Court documents state that Matthews and Molina provided a range of services to ISIS starting in May 2019, according to the news release. Those services included administering an encrypted “chat group” for supporters of ISIS ideology; producing, compiling and distributing ISIS propaganda; and distributing information about firearms training and bomb-making, the release stated.

On ExpressNews.com: Cost man pleads guilty to supporting ISIS, receiving child porn

The two were arrested on Sept. 21, 2020, and have remained in federal custody ever since. Matthews and Molina pleaded guilty to the charges on Nov. 24, 2020, and Jan. 25, 2021, respectively.

The San Antonio FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force spearheaded the investigation into Matthews and Molina with assistance from local and federal agencies, according to the release.

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