Two men charged in Austin with providing support to terrorists

Federal authorities in Central Texas have arrested two men who they say had been supporting terrorists in the United States wanting to engage in a violent holy war overseas.

Rahatul Ashikim Khan, 23, and Michael Todd Wolfe, 23, appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in Austin on Wednesday morning and were charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Authorities allege Khan, a University of Texas student living in Round Rock, referred to himself as a “jihadi” and had been working with others through an internet chatroom between March 2011 and January 2012 to spot and recruit potential terrorists in the United States, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. Western district of Texas. One of the men he tried to enlist to “maim and murder people outside the United States” had been a confidential informant, the criminal complaint states.

Khan, a U.S. citizen born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, “discussed guns, training, the war against Islam, his preparation for the Third World War, shooting and getting the youth interested in the knowledge of jihad (inner struggle/holy war) — something that Khan stated had caused conflict with his parents because he had been snitched on by some kids,” the complaint states.

More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/two-men-charged-in-austin-with-providing-support-t/ngNRc/ .