KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Following an eight-day trial, a jury has convicted Benjamin Carpenter, 31, from Knoxville of attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
Carpenter is a United States citizen and according to court documents, he was the leader of Ahlut-Tawhid Publications, an international organization dedicated to the translation and publication of pro-ISIS and official ISIS media in English. Using his alias “Abu Hamza,” he published a weekly newsletter that celebrated the deaths of American soldiers, glorified suicide bombers and called for open war against the United States.
In 2020 and 2021, Carpenter contacted someone he believed was associated with ISIS, however, it was a covert FBI employee. Carpenter provided translations of ISIS media content to that undercover agent for use by ISIS, according to the Eastern District of Tennessee branch of the Department of Justice.
Carpenter now faces a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison and a lifetime period of supervision upon release from prison. His sentencing date still needs to be set.
This case was investigated by the Knoxville Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The Knoxville FBI Field Office led the investigation with assistance from FBI offices from across the country.
