Dakhlalla graduated from Starkville High School with a 4.0 GPA and is a 2015 graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in psychology, had plans to work on a master's degree in psychology when he met Jaelyn Young. Shortly thereafter, Young converted to Islam and convinced Dakhlalla to leave home in Starkville and travel to Syria by way of Turkey, where they had plans to be wed. Young was reportedly inspired by the killing of five service members in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2014 and 2015, the pair of them watched a number of ISIS propaganda videos featuring Anjem Choudary on the internet, and came to believe that the American media offered a "complete cloud of falsehood." Moe joined in and downloaded the ISIS guide to emigrating to Syria. In May 2015, the FBI made contact with Young, and soon thereafter with Dakhlalla in order to gather evidence of their plans to join the terrorist group. The two had an Islamic marriage ceremony in 2015, but were not officially married, using a honeymoon as pretext for a trip to Turkey. In July, Dakhlalla made statements asserting his usefulness to ISIS in computers, education and media, and stated his willingness to fight. While they made elaborate plans for their journey, the two hid their intentions so poorly they came to the attention of various monitoring groups, including the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. They were arrested at Golden Triangle Regional Airport on August 10, 2015 while attempting to board a flight for Europe on their way to join ISIS. When the FBI visited Dakhlallas parents in Starkville, he initially thought it was a social visit and was shocked to find that his son had been arrested.
Sentencing
U.S. District JudgeSharion Aycock sentenced Dakhlalla to 8 years in prison and a further 15 years of probation on the charge of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization. At the time of sentencing, he thanked the lead FBI agent for saving his life for preventing him from traveling to Syria.
