The United States Justice Department has said that an American man has been charged with trying to provide support for the Islamic State militant group.
Reuters reports that 34-year old Joshua Ray Van Haften of Madison, Wisconsin, intended to travel to Iraq or Syria to join the militant group, also known by the acronyms ISIL or ISIS.
According to the prosecutor's allegation, Van Haften left the United States on August 26, 2014, bound for Turkey, an intermediary stop for many would-be fighters due to the border it shares with Syria.
They further allege that while there, Van Haften exchanged a series of Facebook messages with friends and interacted through the social network with other alleged Islamic State supporters.
In one of such messages with a former roommate in the US in October, he was asked when he would return home to which he replied:
"Turkey is looking like it is divided at the moment about attacking ISIS, which if they do, I'm gonna attack them, I was about to cross to Syria... but I didn't make it. Hopefully soon though. ... I'm tired of this life man."
Van Haften was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday night after arriving on a flight back from Turkey, if convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
