A 34-year-old Dane County man has pleaded not guilty to charges he attempted to travel to Syria to fight with the terrorist group ISIL, also called the Islamic State. Joshua Van Haften was bound for trial in Madison Friday.
Van Haften in an undated mugshot. Dane County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal marshals arrested Van Haften at O’hare International Airport on April 8 getting off a flight from Turkey where he had been caught trying to cross the border into Syria. Federal Magistrate Stephen Crocker ordered him held without bail until his trial that will begin at the end of May. United States Attorney John Vaudreuil said Van Haften should remain in jail because the charges involve terrorism.
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“Under federal law this is a crime of violence, it involves allegations that would be violence. You look at other factors such as the strength of the case. And I believe the case is strong and would warrant detention,” said Vaudreuil.
The criminal complaint includes several Facebook messages to friends which outline his plan to join ISIL and recount his conversion to Islam while serving time in a Wisconsin prison for sexual assault.
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