A Columbia, Missouri, man was sentenced to 19 years in prison in federal court today for his role in making preparations to launch a terrorist attack with persons he believed were members of the Islamic State (ISIS), but who were actually undercover law enforcement employees.
Robert Lorenzo Hester Jr., 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 236 months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Hester to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.
Hester pleaded guilty on Sept. 24, 2019, to attempting to provide material support to ISIS from October 2016 to Feb. 17, 2017, knowing that it was a designated foreign terrorist organization that engages in terrorist activity. Hester actively attempted to plot a mass casualty attack with others that he believed were acting on behalf of ISIS. Hester drew the attention of law enforcement through advocating violence on social media, and when contacted by undercover officers, he immediately showed that he wanted action in addition to words. Law enforcement engaged Hester to see if he was truly committed to an act of terrorism, and his responses left no doubt that he was.
Hester, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in February 2017, is a U.S. citizen. He was enlisted in the U.S. Army for less than a year, receiving a..
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