A Seattle federal court case details how a 21-year-old Washington resident admitted to conspiring to provide “material support” to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”), describing travel plans, communications, and training that led to his arrest and a scheduled federal sentencing date.
Saed Ali Mirreh, 21, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to charges tied to a conspiracy to provide “material support” to a foreign terrorist organization. Federal filings and the plea agreement lay out a timeline of communications, travel planning, and coordination with co-conspirators that spanned several months in 2025. His case was moved into the Western District of Washington and a sentencing hearing is set for October 16, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones.
Prosecutors say Mirreh began communicating with others as early as July 2025 about traveling to Turkey with the ultimate intent of crossing into Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”) as a fighter. In late October 2025 he purchased an airline ticket from Seattle to Istanbul for travel on November 16, 2025 to meet other members of the conspiracy and go onward to Syria. Those planned travel arrangements were accelerated when co-conspirators faced arrests, and Mirreh moved his flight to November 5, 2025 as the group scrambled to adjust.
Mirreh was arrested at his Kent residence on November 4, 2025 as authorities intercepted the travel plan. He had originally been charged in the District of New Jersey alongside 19-year-old co-conspirator Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, and the matter was recently transferred to the Western District of Washington for disposition. The federal complaint and plea papers sketch a coordinated effort among multiple individuals who discussed routes, meetings, and transport to reach contested territory in Syria.
Authorities say members of the same conspiracy who lived in Dearborn, Michigan were arrested on October 31, 2025 for plotting an attack inside the United States on behalf of the same organization, prompting other participants to speed up their travel. Those arrests in Michigan raised concerns for investigators about a domestic plot tied directly to overseas recruitment and radicalization networks. As a result, several defendants altered their plans and law enforcement intensified efforts to interdict travel and disrupt the broader conspiracy.
Recorded communications in the investigation show the group discussed participating in “jihad” and went beyond vague rhetoric to exchange details about physical training, weapons, and operational tactics. The materials and messages allegedly included references to firearms and improvised explosive devices as well as techniques the conspirators considered to evade law enforcement detection. Those specifics formed the backbone of the government’s argument that the conduct amounted to an agreement to provide actionable support rather than protected speech.
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Federal law makes conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization a serious offense, carrying a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under the terms of Mirreh’s plea agreement, he has agreed not to appeal his sentence if it is 20 years or less, and the government has reciprocated by waiving its right to appeal a sentence of 20 years. Those reciprocal concessions are common in plea deals where both sides seek finality while reserving the statutory maximum as a guiding benchmark.
The investigation into the conspiracy was led by the FBI, which coordinated evidence collection, surveillance results, and the movement of suspects across jurisdictions. The prosecution in Seattle is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg, working in coordination with Assistant U.S. Attorney Camila A. Garces of the National Security Unit in Newark, New Jersey. Trial Attorneys John Cella, Patrick Cashman, and James Donnelly of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section in the National Security Division are also listed as prosecutors who participated in developing and presenting the case.
Mirreh’s guilty plea closes the initial phase of the criminal process but leaves sentencing and any collateral consequences to be decided at a later date. The plea and the underlying facts documented by investigators highlight how quickly a travel plan can shift into federal criminal exposure when the intent and communications demonstrate conspiratorial agreement. With sentencing scheduled for October 16, 2026, the court will consider the plea terms, the statutory ranges, and any recommendations or objections the parties submit before imposing a final sentence.
