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The family of a Kansas woman accused of joining ISIS and training an all-female unit in Syria wants nothing to do with her, prosecutors said.
Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, made her initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Prosecutors say that the alleged jihadist, who is charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization, tried to recruit operatives to attack a U.S. college campus and shopping mall.
Allison Fluke-Ekren, a 42-year-old former Kansas resident, allegedly wanted to carry out terrorist attacks on a college campus and shopping mall in the U.S., according to federal authorities. (Alexandria Sheriff's Office)
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh told the judge that he had been in communication with Fluke-Ekren's parents and adult children, and they all said they wanted no contact with her.
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Magistrate Judge Ivan Davis said he could not prevent her from reaching out to them from jail.
Fluke-Ekren, wearing an inmate jumpsuit and headscarf, said she understood the request. She's due back in court on Thursday for a detention hearing.
Prosecutors say that Fluke-Ekren wanted to carry out a terrorist bombing on U.S. soil. She allegedly told one witness that "she considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources," according to an FBI affidavit.
U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Fluke-Ekren allegedly became the leader of an ISIS unit called "Khatiba Nusaybah" in the Syrian city of Raqqa in late 2016.
She trained the battalion, which was comprised solely of female ISIS members who were married to male ISIS fighters, in the use of AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts, according to the affidavit.
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Her alleged leadership duties also included training children on the use of AK-47 assault rifles and suicide belts, and teaching extremist ISIS doctrine.
If convicted, Fluke-Ekren faces up to 20 years in prison. Her lawyer declined to comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
