Marlonn Hicks, 31, of Crown Point, Indiana, was sentenced
today to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release,
for distributing information regarding the manufacture and use of explosives,
with the intent that the information be used for and in furtherance of a crime
of violence.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for
National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II for the
Northern District of Indiana and Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall of
the FBI’s Indianapolis Division. The
sentence was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen.
“The Department of Justice is committed to investigating and
prosecuting terrorist threats against our homeland,” said Assistant Attorney
General Demers. “The defendant plotted
to conduct an attack on U.S. soil and, with today’s sentence, he is being held
accountable for his actions. I applaud
the efforts of the agents and prosecutors to achieve this successful
outcome. Their work will ensure that the
actions of the defendant, inspired by evil, will serve only as a cautionary
tale for other would-be terrorists.”
“This exemplifies the Government’s commitment to prevent
terrorism,” said U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
“Rather than mourning the tragic attacks in Orlando, Hicks was
inspired to try to commit a terror attack to kill innocent victims in the United
States. My Office, working with the FBI
and the National Security Division, quickly and efficiently eliminated the
threat to public safety created by Mr. Hicks’ illegal activities.”
“The online communications by Mr. Hicks drew swift attention
from our agents, who had identified and monitored him early in his path to
radicalization,” said Special Agent in Charge Mendenhall. “As this radicalization deepened, the FBI continued to monitor Mr. Hicks’
activity and took action to mitigate any threats ensuring the public’s safety.”
According to the documents in this case, Hicks rapidly
transformed from a vocal online supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, to someone
planning a terrorist act.
Within days of the Orlando, Florida Pulse Nightclub
terrorist attack, Hicks was inspired to commit an act of terrorism and kill
innocent civilians. On June 21, 2016,
nine days after the Pulse massacre, Hicks discussed “getting busy” with a FBI
source who Hicks believed was an ISIS supporter. Hicks sent this source two manuals on how to
manufacture and use explosives and poisons and continued to discuss with this
FBI source possible terror attacks.
Hicks made his motivation for the planned attacks clear, exclaiming that
since the FBI and similar government personnel “have shut the door now [on his ability to travel to ISIS controlled
territory and fight there] I’m gonna
open the door to hell for them.” As he
began to develop an attack plan, in addition to sending the above referenced
manuals, he discussed coordinating attacks to create “more of an audience.” Hicks also discussed how to obtain firearms
and practice with them. Hicks clearly
communicated to multiple sources and during his post-arrest interview that he
wanted everyone to know the attacks were carried out in the name of ISIS.
During FBI surveillance, Hicks warned one of the FBI sources
to “be careful the boys was just following me” referring to then ongoing FBI
surveillance. During a message exchange
with the FBI source Hicks said he was “strapped,” showed a picture of his
firearm, and said “if they had me on anything I’d already be dead cause in Shaa
Allah [translated as “god willing”] I ain’t going to jail.” Hicks was arrested on federal charges without
incident in July 2016 and has remained in federal custody since his arrest.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Indianapolis Division
and the Indianapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by the National
Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of
the Northern District of Indiana.
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