An American woman who converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State in Syria, leading an all-female military battalion, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a US court Tuesday.
Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, who grew up on a farm in Kansas, was given the maximum possible sentence by US District Judge Leonie Brinkema after pleading guilty to terror charges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
“You’re obviously a very intelligent woman,” Brinkema told Fluke-Ekren, rejecting her claims that she was manipulated by her Turkish-born second husband.
“There’s no question that you were providing material support to a terrorist organization,” the judge said.