The man, Romeo Xavier Langhorne, 32, of St. Augustine, Florida, pleaded guilty in March 2021 to one count of providing material support to ISIS, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence, imposed by the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, also included an additional 15 years of supervised release, the statement said. Prosecutors said that while in an ISIS online chat room in December 2018 and January 2019, Mr Langhorne had expressed an interest in making a video that would enhance existing videos on the construction and use of a lethal explosive type. In February 2019, Mr. Langhorne “began communicating” with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS representative, prosecutors said. He told the agent about his plans to make the video and asked for help creating it, they said. Mr. Langhorne told the agent that the video should include disclaimers that it was for educational purposes so it wouldn’t be taken down by ISPs, prosecutors said, but that its real purpose was to arm ISIS followers and others with knowledge of how to make the explosive. The FBI produced the video – which involved using a chemically inactive formula that would not cause an explosion – and Mr. Langhorne uploaded it to a video-sharing website, prosecutors said. He was arrested in November 2019 in Roanoke, Va., where he lived at the time. Mr. Langhorne’s lawyer, John Leombruno, declined to comment late Friday. In a sentencing memorandum filed June 27, Mr. Leombruno described his client as socially awkward and said he had various untreated mental health issues, including schizophrenia. Mr. Langhorne turned to the Internet to seek confirmation and acceptance, his lawyer said. Mr Leombruno said his client had been targeted by the government because of his “provocative comments and discussions on various social media platforms about the religion of Islam”. “Acting in an undercover capacity, they initiated conversations with Mr. Langhorne and instigated the production of a video that would inform individuals on how to make the explosive in question,” Mr. Leombruno wrote. “To make sure that the defendant was prosecuted, the government produced this particular video,” he continued, adding that the agent had “turned back on Mr. Langhorne when the interactions and conversations between them turned cold.” Authorities said Mr. Langhorne had come to the attention of law enforcement officials in 2014 when he posted pro-ISIS statements and images on his Facebook account, according to a criminal complaint filed in November 2019. The complaint said that since then, Mr. Langhorne had posted several other statements on social media showing “ideological support” for the group, including a speech by Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American citizen who was considered a terrorist who was killed in a drone strike in September of 2011. strike in Yemen. Sherri E. Onks, an FBI agent in Jacksonville, said in the statement that Mr. Langhorne’s threat was “always very real” and that the authorities had interrupted his plan early, preventing a threat. “We remain as vigilant as ever in our efforts to protect the public from others who support terrorist organizations,” he said.
