“Kodaimati later pleaded guilty. He admitted to knowing a member of the Islamic State group in Iraq and fighting alongside an al-Qaida-linked organization in Syria.” If he was waging jihad in Syria, he should not have been allowed back into the United States. The Islamic State and al-Qaeda have declared war on the United States. Their adherents should be considered enemy combatants.
“California man sentenced for lying about ISIS,” Associated Press, March 15, 2016 (thanks to Lookmann):
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Syrian-American man living in San Diego has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for lying to U.S. officials when questioned about knowing a member of the Islamic State group and for participating in combat against the Syrian regime.
Mohamad Saeed Kodaimati appeared in federal court Monday in San Diego where he was given the maximum sentence for making false statements involving international terrorism.
Prosecutors say Kodaimati denied knowing anyone in the extremist group or taking up arms when he was stopped in March 2015 on his way back from Syria. He was arrested in April at his California home.
Kodaimati later pleaded guilty. He admitted to knowing a member of the Islamic State group in Iraq and fighting alongside an al-Qaida-linked organization in Syria. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.