Kent man pleads guilty to conspiring to support ISIS, planned travel to Syria
Wed, July 22, 2026 at 3:21 PM
The United States Federal Courthouse in downtown Seattle, Nov. 2022. (KOMO)
KENT, Wash. —A 21-year-old Kent man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, after investigators say he planned to travel to Syria to fight for the group
Saed Ali Mirreh entered the guilty plea on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to an announcement from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd
Mirreh was arrested in November 2025 as he prepared to board a plane to Turkey with the goal of crossing into Syria to fight for ISIS
Mirreh was originally charged in the District of New Jersey along with a co-conspirator, 19-year-old Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel. Earlier this month, Mirreh’s case was transferred to the Western District of Washington
According to the plea agreement, Mirreh began communicating with co-conspirators as early as July 2025 about traveling to Turkey and ultimately joining ISIS as fighters. The plea agreement says Mirreh knew ISIS had been declared a foreign terrorist organization
In late October 2025, Mirreh purchased an airline ticket to travel from Seattle to Istanbul on Nov. 16, 2025, to meet other members of the conspiracy and then travel onward to Syria, according to the plea agreement
But on Oct. 31, 2025, members of the conspiracy living in Dearborn, Michigan, were arrested for plotting an attack in the United States on behalf of ISIS. After those arrests, Mirreh and Jimenez-Guzel moved up their flight to Turkey to Nov. 5, 2025, authorities said. Mirreh was arrested at his Kent residence on Nov. 4, 2025
Communications between the co-conspirators showed they discussed plans to participate in “jihad,” along with physical training, weapons — including firearms and improvised explosive devices — and how to avoid detection by law enforcement, according to the plea agreement
Conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under the plea agreement, Mirreh will not appeal his sentence if it is 20 years or less. The government also agreed it will not appeal the sentence if it is 20 years in prison
Mirreh’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2026
