On Thursday, 34-year-old Benjamin Carpenter was sentenced to 20 years of prison followed by supervised release for attempting to provide material support to the ISIS, in connection with attempts to help the terrorist group by translating ISIS propaganda.
Carpenter, also known as Abu Hamza, led an online media operation to promote terrorism and distribute pro-ISIS propaganda across the world, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Defendant distributed ISIS propaganda
“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this defendant’s conduct and the Justice Department’s commitment to identifying and holding accountable those who would provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations,” said Olsen.
Court documents dated October 19, 2023, following an eight-day trial in US District Court, show that the jury convicted Carpenter of attempting to provide material support to ISIS. The evidence presented at trial displayed Carpenter's leadership of Ahlut-Tawhid Publications, an international organization of pro-ISIS “munasirin” (supporters), dedicated to translating, producing, and distributing ISIS propaganda globally.
US attorney's office priorities counter-terrorism
“Combating terrorism and keeping our communities safe are the highest priorities of the United States Attorney’s Office,” said US Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “This case deals a serious blow to the expansion of ISIS and its broken message of hatred and senseless violence.”
For years, Carpenter, using his false identity "Abu Hamza," extensively distributed ISIS media, including his weekly newsletter entitled From Dabiq to Rome, a periodical that celebrated the deaths of American soldiers, glorified suicide bombers, and called war against the United States and its Western allies, among other pro-ISIS propaganda themes.
Carpenter attempted to provide translation services for ISIS
“With today’s sentencing, Carpenter is being held accountable for betraying his country and helping ISIS terrorists,” said Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI's National Security Branch. “He led a propaganda machine which called for war against US and allied forces through suicide bombings and other means.”
In 2020 and 2021, Carpenter reached out to somebody he believed to be associated with ISIS’s central media bureau and offered translation assistance for a project intended to relaunch Al-Hayat Media Center, ISIS’s official foreign-language media arm. That individual was an FBI undercover agent who had infiltrated Carpenter’s group.
“The FBI and our partners will relentlessly pursue and bring to justice terrorists who devote their lives to hurting American citizens,” said Wells.