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Teen formerly from York accused of trying to join ISIS

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A teen formerly from York, S.C., is accused of trying to board a plane in Charleston to join the Islamic State group.

The U.S. attorney said Zack Abdin, 18, was stopped Thursday night as he tried to leave the country from Charleston.

When he was 16 years old, he was charged in York with a weapons violation.

He claimed, during his arrest on Thursday, that he wanted to join ISIS, authorities said.

Two years ago, he said he wasn't a follower of ISIS and never planned to join the group or be involved in any terror plot.

York police who thought Abdin was a threat asked the juvenile detention board to keep him locked up until he was 21, but he was released last year at 18.

York police said when they first worked on this case that Abdin met people online, and was plotting with them to attack a North Carolina military base and kill U.S. soldiers.

Because he was a juvenile, they could not charge him with terrorism, only a gun charge.

Investigators believe Abdin was attempting to get in contact with ISIS in hopes of joining the terrorist organization.

He is being held in a Charleston-area jail.

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