Stockton Man Pleads Guilty to Trying to Arm T*rror Group: DOJ

A 34-year-old Stockton, California, man pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge of attempting to send money, guns and gear to a designated foreign t*rrorist organization, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ammaad Akhtar, a U.S. citizen, entered the plea to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign t*rrorist organization, the Justice Department said in a press release. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, and sentencing is set for Feb. 26, 2027, according to the department.

California man, 34, pleads guilty following attempted ISIS support https://t.co/KrRykqOu9z pic.twitter.com/OoXD7bv8jM

— New York Post (@nypost) October 31, 2026

What prosecutors say he did

According to court documents described by the Justice Department, Akhtar communicated online between February and June 2025 with someone he believed was a member of the t*rror group. That person was actually an undercover officer. The department said Akhtar voiced support for the group and for jihad, said he wanted to travel overseas to fight with it, and said he wanted to send it guns and money.

Prosecutors say the talk turned into payments. In April 2025, Akhtar sent money on multiple occasions, according to the Justice Department. After the undercover officer told him the group had bought several guns with his money, Akhtar replied, “May Allah destroy our enemies,” and said he would send more that same day, the department said.

The Justice Department said Akhtar also discussed plans for violence, including an attack on a specific person and an attack using homemade explosives. According to the release, he said he “want[s] to die in the cause of Allah fighting the kuffar,” a term the department translated as “infidels,” and asked for instructions on building a homemade explosive device “to make a boom” at a populated event.

The handoff

On June 23, 2025, Akhtar met in person with a man he believed was an associate of the group, according to the Justice Department. That man was an undercover agent. The department said Akhtar handed over clothing, binoculars, $400 in cash, two loaded guns and six additional magazines, and then swore a pledge of loyalty to the group.

KCRA, the NBC affiliate in Sacramento, reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California said Akhtar was caught through an undercover operation. The Sun, a San Joaquin Valley outlet, reported that U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins will sentence him.

The Justice Department said FBI field offices in New York and Sacramento and the New York City Police Department conducted the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by two assistant U.S. attorneys in the Eastern District of California and a trial attorney from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, according to the release.

Why it matters

The plea lands the same weekend the Department of Homeland Security flagged an online call by a supporter of the same group for lone attackers to strike over Halloween, according to a DHS document described to ABC News. ABC reported that the document says there are currently no credible threats to the homeland connected to the holiday.

The Akhtar case shows the other side of that picture: according to prosecutors, a homegrown sympathizer asked for help making an explosive for a crowded event, and the people he was talking to turned out to be undercover agents and officers. The New York Post also reported the plea on Saturday.

No sentence has been handed down. A federal judge will decide the punishment after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors, the Justice Department said.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (Oct. 30, 2026)
• KCRA
• The Sun (San Joaquin Valley)
• New York Post
• ABC News: DHS warning on Halloween posts
• New York Post on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.