Florida Man Sentenced In Miami Federal Court To 16 Years In Prison For Spreading Terrorist Propaganda

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - A Cuban-born US Citizen has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for distributing Islamic terrorist propaganda videos online.

Jonathan Guerra Blanco, a Florida resident, was sentenced in Miami federal court.

He pleaded guilty in December 2020 to attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, federal investigators learned in 2019 that Guerra Blanco was following instructions the Islamic State terrorist group had widely distributed, directing adherents to publish propaganda, raise funds, recruit members and justify attacks on the United States. Guerra Blanco translated the group's materials into Spanish for his target audience, prosecutors said.

Guerra Blanco also produced videos that he intended to use to recruit Spanish speakers to the Islamic State's cause and to terrorize citizens of Spain, officials said. Many of the videos glorified the terrorist group's violence and called for attacks on Spanish authorities, investigators said.

(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)