Who Is Hasan Edmonds? Former Illinois National Guard Soldier Pleads Guilty In ISIS Plot

Hasan Edmonds, a former Illinois National Guard soldier, pleaded guilty Monday of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The 23-year-old U.S. citizen of Aurora, Illinois will be sentenced March 18 and could face up to 30 years in prison.

Hasan Edmonds has been charged with one count of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, AP reported. He reportedly pleaded guilty in Chicago federal court just a week after his brother Jonas Edmonds, 30, of Aurora, admitted to similar charges.

"Hasan and Jonas Edmonds conspired to provide material support to ISIL," John P. Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security, reportedly said in a news release, using one of the acronyms for ISIS. "They admitted planning to wage violence on behalf of ISIL in the Middle East and to conduct an attack on our soil."

Hasan Edmonds made plans to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS militants in their fight against the West. He was arrested by agents with the Chicago FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force on March 25 at Chicago Midway International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Detroit on the first leg of his journey to Cairo, Egypt.

According to the Sun-Times, when Hasan Edmonds was arrested, he was carrying a black backpack filled with “all-weather and camouflage notepads, a camera, a Quran and two books: 'Fortress of the Muslim' and 'The Covenant of the Flame.'”

After dropping his brother at the airport, Jonas Edmonds reportedly went to Hasan Edmonds' home and collected several National Guard uniforms, which he planned to use as a disguise during a planned attack at the Joliet armory, AP reported, citing the plea agreement. Jonas Edmonds, who was arrested at his home the same day, is to be sentenced on Jan. 27 and could face up to 23 years in prison.

The armory attack, which the brothers planned, was aimed at killing as many as 150 people, charges filed against the two alleged.