DENVER (CN) - A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a 20-year-old man to three years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to a single federal terrorism charge related to his plan to join ISIS.

"Unfortunately we are at war, and threats of terrorism are abhorrent, terrifying and dangerous," U.S. District Judge Regina M. Rodriguez. "There must be a clear communication to the community at large that they will not be tolerated in any circumstances."

Shortly after turning 18, Humzah Mashkoor was arrested at Denver International Airport on Dec. 19, 2023, after he attempted to board a plane with a one-way ticket to the United Arab Emirates. Believing he was planning to travel to Afghanistan to join ISIS, federal prosecutors charged him with "attempting to provide material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations."

In January, Mashkoor pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of concealment and disguise of the intent to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

When ISIS reentered Afghanistan in the fall of 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. troops, teenage Mashkoor said he saw the news as divine intervention. After suffering from years of physical and emotional abuse, he stopped planning to commit suicide and instead dreamed of joining ISIS.

Federal investigators began tracking Mashkoor in 2022 based on a suspicious activity referral from Snapchat.

Pulled into a social media echo chamber, Mashkoor told actual affiliates of ISIS and undercover FBI agents online that he wanted to devote himself to the group's cause.

At the time, Mashkoor told an informant his family had immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan, according to the arrest affidavit. In making plans to join ISIS, Mashkoor obtained travel vaccines and studied how to use cryptocurrency.

Investigators said Mashkoor told the informant he hoped to find a wife and to fight for ISIS, but that he would be willing to die as a martyr or carry out an attack in the U.S.

U.S. Attorney Laura Cramer-Babycz pushed back on the assertion that federal agents simply set him up.

"They called him brother, they used statements of affection, that was common for trying to reach a supporter, but this wasn't to generate his support, it was to see what he intended to do with that support," Cramer-Babycz said.

On behalf of Mashkoor, defense attorney Kathryn Stimson refuted the government's characterization of her client as a terrorist.

"Had he not been arrested, Mr. hand-sanitizer, Mr. can't-go-camping-in-Evergreen would have been back on a plane in a day because he would have experienced extreme culture shock," Stimson said. "His desire to join ISIS and his ability to do it is very, very different."

Stimson pointed out that Mashkoor's mother had actually booked his plane ticket to the United Arab Emirates in hopes of helping him find a wife, as had been customary in the family. When asked how he intended to go from the UAE to Afghanistan, Stimson said Mashkoor told her he would get a plane ticket from the consulate, apparently believing the government office would book travel for him.

Due to the nature of the charge, Mashkoor spent 441 days in solitary confinement while confined with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons as a pretrial detainee in conditions that Stimson likened to torture. After being released to a treatment facility with a diagnosis of autism and a medication regime, Stimson said he flourished.

Stimson said she was shocked at the amount of resources the government put into trailing Mashkoor instead of communicating with his family while he was a minor. She added that she hoped to return to court in 10 years to ask for Mashkoor's supervised release to be lifted, confident that he will follow the court's conditions.

"He won't touch the thermostat because it's connect to the internet and he's not allowed to use the internet," Stimson said.

In addressing the court, Mashkoor recalled his tumultuous childhood when he faced abuse from his family and bullying at school.  

"When I was 13, I embraced hate and resentment. I became something darker to defend myself," he said.

After undergoing mental health treatment following his arrest, Mashkoor said he finally feels like he belongs, as he embraces his religion and hopes to one day enter law enforcement.

"I am finally able to grasp that I am an American, that I can embrace the country I was born and raised in," Mashkoor said.

He even thanked the federal agents for saving his life.

"Thank you to the federal agents who arrested me for the wake-up call I needed, that saved my life," Mashkoor said.

While Rodriguez ultimately gave Mashkoor a sentence halfway between the defense's request of time served and the government's maximum 60 months, the Joe Biden appointee described the case as one of the most difficult she has seen in her time on the bench.

"Even as a young adult, you are still responsible for your actions," Rodriguez said.

Source: Courthouse News Service