DENVER (AP) — The trial of a refugee from Uzbekistan charged with conspiring to support a terrorist group and making plans to join the organization is underway in Denver.
Prosecutors say Jamshid Muhtorov received $300 from another man to give to the Islamic Jihad Union and was arrested in 2012 before boarding a flight with plans to join the organization.
Muhtorov's attorneys say he emailed with people claiming to belong to the group but never sent money or intended to join in person. They say he was traveling to study Islam and help his brother, who was in a refugee camp.
Before the trial, Muhtorov unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program.
Phone conversations, emails and tracked online activity make up much of the evidence against him.