The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia charged a leading figure in the Islamic State of Iraq and a former ISIS fighter on Saturday with conspiracy to provide material support resulting in death to ISIS, a designated terrorist organization.

Mohammed Khalifa, also known as Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi or Abu Muthanna Al-Muhajir, is a Saudi-born Canadian citizen who was captured overseas by the Syrian Democratic Forces and recently transferred into the custody of the FBI, at which point he was brought to the Eastern District of Virginia.

In 2013, Khalifa traveled to Syria with the intent of becoming a foreign fighter and ultimately joining ISIS. Khalifa allegedly joined around November 2013. In early 2014, he was recruited to join ISIS’s Media Bureau due to his linguistic capabilities as a fluent English and Arabic speaker.

The complaint claims:

Khalifa played an important role in the production and dissemination of ISIS propaganda across multiple media platforms targeting Western audiences … Khalifa admitted to FBI agents that he narrated and provided translations for al-Hayat videos ‘Flames of War’ and ‘Flames of War 2.’ Further, Khalifa admitted to assisting in the translation and narration of approximately 15 ISIS videos including but not limited to ‘The Return of the Gold Dinar,’ which was produced by al-Hayat, videos of the ‘Inside the Khalifah’ series, which were also produced by al-Hayat, and unidentified videos and propaganda produced and released by al-Furqan and al-Hayat.

According to Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, through Khalifa’s role in translating, narrating, and advancing ISIS’s online propaganda, Khalifa encouraged potential recruits to join ISIS, promoted committing violent acts on behalf of ISIS, and glamorized the Islamic State and its fighters.

If convicted, Khalifa faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.