MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis man named Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, aged 22, has been accused by federal prosecutors of attempting to join the Islamic State group. His arrest follows allegations that he expressed admiration for a deadly truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people.

Hassan made his first court appearance on a charge of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Following this, he was ordered to be held without bail until a detention hearing set for March 5. Katherian Roe, the chief federal defender for Minnesota, has announced that her office will represent him but has refrained from commenting further on the case.

The criminal complaint against Hassan indicates that he attempted two times in December 2022 to travel from Minnesota to Somalia to join the Islamic State but was unsuccessful. While he allegedly claimed he was visiting family, authorities noted he had no family in Somalia.

Prosecutors revealed that an FBI investigation uncovered multiple social media posts where Hassan expressed public support for the Islamic State group. Notably, he praised Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who carried out the New Orleans attack on January 1, 2023. Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas native and U.S. Army veteran, had posted videos pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group before using a pickup truck to plow through a crowd on Bourbon Street. He was ultimately fatally shot by police during an exchange of gunfire at the scene.

Last week, Hassan allegedly posted a video of himself driving while displaying an Islamic State flag inside his vehicle. The FBI noted that he was observed driving with the flag shortly before his arrest on Thursday.

In addition, the charging documents reveal that police in New York had informed the FBI last May about Hassan’s social media activity, which included supportive posts regarding the Somali militant group al-Shabab. An affidavit from an FBI agent claims that investigators discovered al-Shabab and Islamic State propaganda videos on Hassan's TikTok and Facebook accounts, as well as evidence suggesting he exchanged messages with a Facebook account encouraging Somali-speaking individuals to travel and fight for the Islamic State.

On December 13, 2022, FBI agents were monitoring Hassan when he attempted to check in for a flight to Somalia at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He departed after being informed by an airline employee that he lacked the necessary travel documents. Hassan made a second attempt on December 29. During this instance, agents witnessed him boarding a flight to Chicago. Customs and Border Protection officials conducted an extensive interview with him before his scheduled flight to Ethiopia, but he was not detained. He ultimately missed the flight and returned to Minneapolis.

Hassan is the latest in a series of individuals from Minnesota suspected of attempting to leave the United States to join the Islamic State group. This follows a pattern in recent years where numerous Minnesotans have been involved in similar attempts. Back in 2016, nine Minnesota men were sentenced for conspiring to join the group. Additionally, a Minnesotan who had fought for the Islamic State in Iraq was sentenced to a decade in prison in June 2023.