Unsealed documents show that a former FBI translator secretly went to Syria three years ago to marry an ISIS leader whom she was supposed to be investigating. She immediately regretted her decision and was able to return to the US where she was arrested.
Daniela Greene, who is fluent in German, was a translator for the Detroit FBI office in 2014 when she was asked to investigate an ISIS leader named Denis Cuspert, a German rapper who recruited jihadists on the internet.
An ISIS love story
It wasn’t clear how Greene first came into personal contact with Cuspert.
However, Greene was able to provide the FBI several online accounts of Cuspert including his phone number and Skype account. Greene fell in love with Cuspert and secretly flew off to Syria.
On June 11, 2014, she told her FBI supervisor she was traveling to Germany to visit her parents and would return to the US on July 4. She never went to Germany. Instead, Greene went to Syria and married Cuspert. They lived together for 30 days.
Regret soon followed
After arriving in Syria, Greene immediately regretted her decision and realized she had made a terrible mistake, indicated in her emails to her friends in the US.
One of Green’s emails said, “I was weak and didn’t know how to handle anything anymore.” She added, “I really made a mess of things this time,” according to a report by USA Today.
Greene’s arrest
Greene was able to return to the United States on Aug. 4, 2014, and was arrested just four days later. Authorities said that she was visibly sorry for what she had done and cooperated fully with the FBI. Greene admitted her guilt, which factored in her significantly light sentence of 24 months than the 46 months she could have received.
Greene pleaded guilty in December 2014 to making a false statement involving international terrorism. She served two years in prison and was released this past summer.
Cuspert joined the Islamic State in 2012. He appeared on a video in which he appears to be holding a severed head. Cuspert claims the head belonged to an executed person who opposed their cause.
Greene already knew what Cuspert is capable of but married him anyway. Former FBI chief Andy Arena said that the FBI is made of human beings and also make mistakes.
What do you think of the FBI translator marrying an ISIS leader?
