California Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Terrorism Charges, Authorities Say Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen Helped al Qaeda With Weapons Training

A Southern California man pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges, after he reportedly helped members of al Qaeda with weapons training sessions.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, which spoke with NBC News, 24-year-old Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen used Facebook, along with other websites, to link up with the militant organization. Nguyen pleaded guilty to a count of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, after he signed a plea agreement that contained his confession to uniting with extremists in Syria in 2012.

While he was in Syria, the Garden Grove resident wrote on various social media accounts concerning a "confirmed kill" in battles against Bashar al Assad's regime, according to a statement obtained by NBC. After coming back to the U.S., Nguyen allegedly started telling people he'd been given the opportunity to help train al Qaeda militant groups in Syria, but turned down the option.

Nguyen then met with a person he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter who promised he could help the 24-year-old get phony papers so he could take a trip to Pakistan, where he would help members of al Qaeda "for a guerrilla warfare ambush attack on coalition forces."

But the person Nguyen believed was a recruiter was, in fact, an FBI agent. Nguyen was arrested on Oct. 11, NBC reported, after he tried to get on a bus bound for Mexico with a fake passport and an external hard drive that held "over 180 training videos on shooting firearms," the plea read.

Nguyen faces, at most, 15 years in prison.