North Carolina man pleads guilty to trying to help Islamic State

By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM N.C. (Reuters) - A North Carolina man accused of seeking to join Islamic State insurgents fighting in Syria pleaded guilty on Thursday to attempting to provide material support to the group. Donald Ray Morgan, 44, admitted that he tried between January and August to aid the efforts of the militants, according to U.S. prosecutors in Greensboro, North Carolina. Western countries say many of their citizens have traveled to Syria to fight on behalf of Islamic State, which has captured sections of Iraq and Syria. The group has released videos showing the beheadings of Western hostages. Prosecutors said Morgan left North Carolina for Lebanon earlier this year and tried unsuccessfully in May to travel to Syria to join Islamic State militants. He was arrested in August at JFK International Airport in New York on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Questioned by FBI agents who had been monitoring his comments on social media, he denied any plans to conduct an attack against the United States, according to court records. But in an interview that aired on NBC on Sept. 3 and was apparently conducted in Lebanon before his arrest, Morgan said he would probably face criminal charges if he returned to the United States. "Someone has to defend Islam and someone has to defend innocent Muslims," Morgan said during the broadcast. On Thursday, U.S. prosecutors charged him with "attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization." Morgan pleaded guilty to both charges and will be sentenced on Feb. 18. The new charge carries a maximum of 15 years in prison, and the firearm charge could bring up to 10 years. "Today's plea is a sad reminder that those who wish to aid foreign terrorist organizations can come from any community and from any background," said Ripley Rand, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Peter Cooney)