Three United States citizens, one of them a former Navy sailor, have been charged with conspiring to support the Islamic State group and to target American service members. The case was announced by the Justice Department, which framed the alleged plot as an effort to act on behalf of the militant organization against members of the US military.
According to the Justice Department, the suspects are from California and Kansas. Investigators say the men had been in contact with one another for more than a year, communicating over an extended period as the alleged conspiracy took shape across state lines.
Officials say the men were sent photographs of rocket-propelled grenades, weapons that they were allegedly trying to acquire. The reference to the men attempting to buy such weaponry points to the seriousness with which prosecutors are treating the alleged plot.
At the center of the case is the allegation that the conspiracy was aimed at US service members. Prosecutors say the goal of supporting the Islamic State was tied directly to targeting members of the American armed forces, a charge that places the case firmly within the category of national security prosecutions.
The involvement of a former Navy sailor adds a further dimension to the case, given the background of one of those accused. The charges describe individuals who, despite being US citizens, are alleged to have sought to align themselves with a group long designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
The prosecution is the latest federal terrorism case to focus on Americans accused of seeking to provide support to the Islamic State. Authorities have presented the charges as the result of an investigation that tracked the suspects' communications over the course of more than a year before the case was brought.