Al-Qaida link alleged in arrest at Sky Harbor

A 35-year-old Chandler woman was arrested Wednesday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after attempting to send money to a member of al-Qaida, a terrorist group, for rifle scopes that would be used to “kill American soldiers,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Arizona Republic.

Jill Marie Jones was arrested for attempting to provide material support for the organization after she checked in for her flight to the Middle East on Wednesday, the complaint said.

Jones was in contact with two undercover FBI employees, one of whom she believed was an al-Qaida member. During

her conversations with the agent in March, Jones gave them a $500 prepaid gift card that would go toward purchasing the rifle scopes, the complaint said.

The FBI investigation found Jones “espoused violence in furtherance of Islamic extremist ideology” and supported “retaliation against the United States military and government actions occurring outside the United States.”

She intended on traveling overseas to assist al-Qaida and initially purchased tickets to join the organization in Afghanistan, but airport closures prompted her to change her flights to go to Turkey instead. From there, she planned on traveling to Syria, the complaint said.

Jones in April forwarded the agent a screenshot of a conversation she’d had with another person, during which she said she would “rather go and support those that do what is right, and die trying to get there, or while I am there, than live in ease here.”

In another conversation with the agent in May, Jones said “supporting AQ against the oppressors would be an honour.”

She also said she had at one time “thought of acting here” at a nearby base but didn’t because her “power is limited here,” the complaint said.

The prosecution is being handled by Lisa Jennis, assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, and Katie Sweeten, trial attorney with the National Security Division’s counterterrorism unit.