An Arizona woman who allegedly tried to send a $500 prepaid gift card to al-Qaeda was arrested at an airport in Arizona while she was attempting to travel to Syria, according to the FBI.
Federal officers booked Jill Marie Jones, 35, at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Wednesday on charges of providing material support to al Qaeda. Jones tried to board a flight to Los Angeles, then a connecting flight to Turkey, and ultimately enter Syria to assist terrorists, court documents showed.
In March, Jones started talking to an undercover FBI agent who put her in contact with another undercover investigator, according to documents. At one point, Jones told undercover agents she wanted to help al-Qaeda.
She then allegedly bought a $500 prepaid gift card she thought was spent on buying rifle scopes to "kill Americans."
“May it help them be victorious,” Jones allegedly told the undercover agent after the transaction. During discussions of the funding, she also noted the coronavirus relief checks that people in the U.S. received because of the pandemic.
“The timing is interesting,” she allegedly told the agent in May. “Since because of coronavirus, we all got government money. Free money basically. We would be delayed without it anyway, and it would be most ironic the money from that goes for this … They give us free money, and I turn it around on them.”
During her conversations with one of the agents, Jones allegedly mentioned she'd join Tanzim Hurras al-Din, also known as Guardians of Religion.
“I had, at one time, thought of acting here, I have a base near me. But my power is limited here. My resources and its reach,” Jones said, according to court documents. “Even then, the brothers and sisters here would only be negatively impacted by it. They would get more harassment, and the ones that aren’t strong will go further from Islam from it.”
If convicted, Jones faces up to 20 years in prison. She's scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.