Man who threatened military members gets 20 years in prison

CLEVELAND — An Ohio man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges involving threatening U.S. military members online on behalf of the Islamic State.

Terrence McNeil was sentenced Wednesday in Cleveland. He pleaded guilty earlier to five counts of solicitation to commit a crime of violence and five counts of making threatening interstate communications. Five other charges were dismissed.

FBI officials say McNeil posted a file on his Tumblr page in September 2015 containing names and addresses of military personnel. The 24-year-old Akron man allegedly urged Islamic State supporters to behead those mentioned in the file.

His attorney on Wednesday acknowledged the seriousness of the charges, but pointed out McNeil had no criminal history. Attorney Nathan Ray says he believes McNeil “got in over his head.”