FBI arrests Arvada teen suspected of trying to support al

Posted: 07/02/2014 05:40:39 PM MDT

Updated: 07/02/2014 05:49:07 PM MDT

An Arvada teen has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to support al-Qaeda and its affiliates, including the Islamic State of Iraq, according to court records.

Shannon Maureen Conley, 19, was arrested by the FBI in April as she attempted to board a plane to Turkey at the Denver International Airport, according to Dave Joly, an FBI spokesman.

Investigators from the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated Conley for roughly eight months before arresting her, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in the Denver U.S. District Court.

In 2013, Conley met a man online where the two shared their views of Islam as 'requiring participation in violent jihad against any non-believers,' according to federal court papers. The person, identified in documents at 'Y.M.,' told Conley that he was fighting in Syria with the group known as ISIS, which is one of several rebel factions locked in a bitter civil war with the Syrian government.

The two planned for Conley to provide support to ISIS and 'fight should it become necessary,' court documents say.

In September, Conley joined the U.S. Army Explorers to be trained in military tactics and guns, said court papers.

Y.M., along with others, helped buy Conley an airline ticket to Turkey.

Law enforcement began looking into Conley's activities after a security guard at the Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada, the site of a 2007 active shooter attack, contacted police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to report that a woman had been wandering the campus and taking notes, court records say.

The guard thought Conley was suspicious and that her note taking seemed to be in an effort to outline the church grounds in preparation for an attack.

An Arvada police detective and a Special Deputy U.S. Marshall interviewed Conley in November 2013 about her time at the church, according to court documents. Conley told investigators that she hated 'those people' and 'if they think I'm a terrorist, I'll give them something to think I am.'

She also referred to U.S. military bases at 'targets,' according to court papers.

A month later, Conley was interviewed by an FBI Special Agent, at which point Conley said that she was training in military tactics and hoped to train Islamic jihadi fighters, a Special Deputy U.S. Marshall said.

A few weeks later, the complaint said, Conley told the FBI agent she was 'ready to wage jihad in a year.'

The agent interviewed Conley several more times over the next few months leading into 2014, during which Conley repeatedly said that she wanted to travel to the middle east and east Africa to wage jihad.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or http://ift.tt/1uUf4xx