Former Mississippi State University students Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla and Jaelyn Young recently plead guilty before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi in Greenville for their attempt to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 
  As reported by The Clarion Ledger, ISIS is an Islamist militant group that has seized land stretching from northern Syria to central Iraq. They also have recruiting campaigns via social media and other virtual means that has extended its reach throughout the world.
Dakhlalla plead guilty on March 11 before Chief U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock of the Northern District of Mississippi for conspiring with Young, who plead guilty on March 29, for attempting to provide material to support ISIL.
  Young, 20, of Vicksburg, Mississippi and Dakhlalla, 23, of Starkville, Mississippi were arrested on August 8 at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTRA) near Columbus, Mississippi.     
  Both were students at MSU in the past year with Young having been a sophomore chemistry major and Dakhlalla having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in May 2015.
   According to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Mississippi’s criminal complaint, Young and Dakhlalla were charged with violating “18 U.S.C.; 2339B,” which states that one “Knowingly provides material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, or attempts or conspires to do so…”
  The couple were unaware they were in contact with undercover FBI agents on social media. The court order read: “On or about May 13, 2015, FBI Employee 1 had online contact with an individual who expressed a desire to travel to Syria in support of ISIL and made several supportive statements of ISIL.”
 The investigation also detailed social media conversations between FBI Employee 1 and Young, confirming all of the social media platforms were registered to Young.
  According to Reuters.com, in exchange for Young’s guilty plea to a single count of conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, U.S. prosecutors agreed to not press any other charges.
Both may face up to 20 years in prison.