A federal grand jury in Charleston has indicted Ala Aldeen Alshaikh, 31, of Goose Creek, on four counts related to making false statements during his naturalization process, lying to FBI agents, and destroying evidence to obstruct a federal investigation. Alshaikh was arrested by federal agents earlier today.
According to the indictment, Alshaikh is a Sudanese national who applied for U.S. citizenship in September 2021. During an interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer, he denied any association with terrorist organizations. However, the indictment states that in August 2021 he pledged allegiance to ISIS and claimed membership in the group. It also alleges that ahead of his naturalization ceremony one year later, he again denied connections to terrorist groups on written immigration forms.
The indictment further claims that in October and November 2021, after his immigration interview on September 10 of that year, Alshaikh made online statements indicating ties with ISIS regarding a possible attack on a U.S. Embassy.
Additionally, prosecutors allege that Alshaikh lied to an FBI agent in January 2025 by denying he had offered his aviation expertise to anyone. The indictment asserts that he had offered this expertise to the militant group known as the Al-Bara Ibn Malik Brigade. It is also alleged that after learning about the federal investigation against him, Alshaikh destroyed evidence related to these online conversations.
Alshaikh faces maximum penalties ranging from five to twenty years in prison if convicted on all charges. He was arraigned today and is scheduled for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Gordon Baker on September 19 at 10 a.m.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Columbia Joint Terrorism Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Lietzow and Everett McMillian are prosecuting the case with support from Trial Attorney Kevin C. Nunnally of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.
“All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
