PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A high school honors student has pleaded not guilty in federal court in Philadelphia to charges he helped the American terror suspect dubbed "Jihad Jane" raise money and recruits.
Eighteen-year-old Mohammad Hassan Khalid of Ellicott City, Md., a Baltimore suburb, entered the plea Monday at his first public court appearance since his arrest in July.
U.S. prosecutors say Khalid tried to recruit men to wage jihad in Europe and South Asia, and women with passports. The indictment filed last week says he met Colleen "Jihad Jane" LaRose of Pennsylvania in an Internet chat room.
Neither family nor friends were in court to support Khalid. He faces a 15-year prison term and deportation to his native Pakistan if convicted.
Defense lawyer Jeffrey Lindy says his client's online posts are less sinister than the government believes.
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