Two Indiana brothers were indicted on firearm and terrorism charges on Thursday, as prosecutors allege they intended to manufacture weapons for use by the Islamic State.
A federal grand jury returned a seven count indictment against Moyad Dannon, 21, and Mahde Dannon, 20, both of Fishers, Indiana. They each face six firearm charges and one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, better known by the acronym ISIS.
The pair faces a maximum of 10 years on each of the firearms charges and 20 years on the terrorism charge.
In June 2018, Mahde devised a scheme to sell illegally-obtained guns to a convicted felon who was FBI informant, according to the seven-page indictment. He then introduced his brother to the informant. The brothers soon advanced to manufacturing their own weapons, creating fully-functioning semi-automatic rifles and one fully-automatic rifle.
Prosecutors say in May 2019 the pair then accompanied the uncover agent to a location near the U.S. southwest border to market the manufactured guns to a potential buyer, who was also an FBI informant.
The uncover buyer told the brothers he intended to ship the weapons to Islamic State soldiers in the Middle East, the indictment said.
Almost immediately after the sale, the FBI arrested the Dannon brothers, according to the Justice Department.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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