Most Islamic State-related defendants get maximum sentence

Protesters came out after closing arguments.
File photo: Susan Martinson, left, of Women Against Military Madness, and Misty Rowan of the Anti-War Committee join protestors after closing arguments in the trial of three Twin Cities men accused of trying to join the ISIS terror group in Syria at the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis May 31, 2016.
Courtney Perry for MPR News File

Federal prosecutors say the majority of terrorism defendants in the U.S. who have been sentenced in cases related to the Islamic State group have received the maximum 15 years in prison.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota says in a summary filed Friday that it examined Islamic State-related cases nationwide over the last two years.

It found that eight of the 13 defendants who have already been sentenced received the maximum 15 years in prison — or more if sentenced on multiple counts.

Nine Minnesota men await sentencing for conspiring to support a foreign terrorist organization. No sentencing date has been set. Three of them face a possible life sentence because they also were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder overseas.

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