Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Florida

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 20, 2022

15-Year Sentence for South Florida Resident Who Attempted to Provide Material Support to Terrorists

Miami, Florida – U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez has sentenced 29-year-old Samuel Baptiste to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to materially support terrorism.  The judge ordered that the sentence run consecutive to the 80-month sentence that Baptiste is currently serving for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, in November 2016, Baptiste provided information on constructing explosive devices to persons he believed were acting on behalf of ISIS.  He shared the information by posting it on internet links and portions of a munitions manual.    

On October 22, 2021, Baptiste admitted his conduct and pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. 2339A.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the sentence.

FBI Miami investigated the case.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Michael Thakur.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case no. 18-cr-20613.