MADISON (AP) - Two Milwaukee men were charged in federal court Friday with trying to join the Islamic State group by traveling through Mexico to Syria.
Jason Michael Ludke, 35, is charged with attempting to support a foreign terrorist organization, and Yosvany Padilla-Conde, 30, is charged with aiding and abetting Ludke. Both men face up to 20 years in prison if they're convicted.
According to the complaint, Ludke and Padilla-Conde began corresponding on social media with an undercover FBI employee last month and said they planned to travel to Mexico, where they could get passage to Syria and join the Islamic State group in Iraq.
Ludke said he converted to Islam in 2003 and wanted to live under Shariah law. He also said he was tired of living under the infidel's system and wanted to strive for paradise.
The undercover FBI employee received an email on Oct. 1 containing a video of Padilla-Conde and Ludke with a handmade Islamic State group flag in the background. Ludke said Padilla-Conde was striving to reach paradise as well, according to the complaint.
The undercover employee told Ludke that people in Mexico would be able to get them passports for Arab counties.
Jason Michael Ludke, 35, is charged with attempting to support a foreign terrorist organization, and Yosvany Padilla-Conde, 30, is charged with aiding and abetting Ludke. Both men face up to 20 years in prison if they're convicted.
According to the complaint, Ludke and Padilla-Conde began corresponding on social media with an undercover FBI employee last month and said they planned to travel to Mexico, where they could get passage to Syria and join the Islamic State group in Iraq.
Ludke said he converted to Islam in 2003 and wanted to live under Shariah law. He also said he was tired of living under the infidel's system and wanted to strive for paradise.
The undercover FBI employee received an email on Oct. 1 containing a video of Padilla-Conde and Ludke with a handmade Islamic State group flag in the background. Ludke said Padilla-Conde was striving to reach paradise as well, according to the complaint.
The undercover employee told Ludke that people in Mexico would be able to get them passports for Arab counties.