A former U.S. Army soldier was indicted Wednesday for allegedly trying to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, officials said.
Craig Baxam, 24, of Laurel, was indicted in federal court in Greenbelt. If convicted, Baxam could receive a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to the indictment, Baxam — who served in the Army from 2007 to July 2011 — cashed out funds from a retirement account, bought a plane ticket, flew from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Kenya and traveled toward Kenya’s northern border with Somalia in an effort to join and fight for the terrorist organization al-Shabaab.
Baxam was arrested near Mombasa, Kenya, on Dec. 23 by Kenyan anti-terrorism police, the indictment stated.
