Feds Suspect Man Stopped at John Wayne Airport Was Headed to Join Terrorist Ring

A man arrested at John Wayne Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, with a fraudulent passport so he could allegedly join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, rebels, was expected to be arraigned in federal court Monday.

Adam Dandach was indicted Wednesday on charges of making a false statement on a passport application and use of a passport obtained through a false statement.

The FBI arrested Dandach July 2 at John Wayne Airport as he was about to board a Delta Airlines flight.

According to federal court papers, he told investigators that "he was traveling to Syria for the purpose of pledging his alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, a known terrorist organization, that he would assist ISIS with anything that ISIS asked him to do, and that he believed the killings of U.S. soldiers are justified killings."

Dandach had applied for an expedited replacement passport in June, explaining in the application that he had accidentally thrown the original in the trash while cleaning.

Authorities said his mother actually hid the original passport in a closet to stop him from flying to the Middle East in December.

--City News Service