HOUSTON, Texas — Thirteen years and nine months is how long a Houston man was sentenced to prison for his attempts to give material support to Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a known terrorist group.

Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, 23, pleaded guilty to making efforts to join ISIS and offer support from August 2017 until December 2017, according to court documents.

Damlarkaya connected with people he believed to be ISIS supporters online and shared weaponry use. In early August 2017, investigators saw conversations where he explained using machetes, creating automatic weapons from scratch and the development and use of explosive materials.

Court documents showed that at least on two separate occasions, Damalarkaya shared how to build a bomb.

Through those online discussions, Damlarkaya expressed plans to travel overseas to join ISIS in Syria or Afghanistan. Officials said, “Damlarkaya added that if he was unsuccessful in joining ISIS overseas, he would conduct an on attack on non-Muslims in the United States and that it was his ‘dream’ to be a martyr.”   

Officials said Damlarkaya presented an alternative weaponry to ISIS supporters, saying he could buy a “GIANT machete for $15.” He continued on with, “a lot of us are poor… or we don’t have experience. So not all of us can get a gun or make explosives, but we can afford to buy a $15 knife.” He told them he kept a machete under his pillow and would put it to use if his house became raided by officers.

After officers searched Damlarkaya’s house upon arresting him, they discovered a machete near his bed.

Damlarkaya will be transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility that’s yet to be determined.