KS ‘ISIS mom’ denied bail and remains in custody as she faces terrorism charges for ‘joining ISIS’

Kansas ‘ISIS mom’ Allison Fluke-Ekren was denied bail after appearing in court in Virginia on Thursday to face terrorism charges for ‘joining ISIS and leading an all-female battalion armed with AK-47 rifles in Syria.’ 

Fluke-Ekren, 42, of Topeka, is accused of providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS after joining the terrorist organization overseas in 2014, prosecutors say. 

Authorities released a booking photo following her arrest last week, in which she is wearing a black hijab, and revealed she was known by the names, Umm Mohammed al-Amriki, Umm Mohammed, and Umm Jabril.  

She first appeared in court on Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. 

At the end of the hearing First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh told the judge that he had been in contact with Fluke-Ekren’s parents and her adult children, and they all said they wanted no contact with her. 

Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren wanted to recruit operatives to attack a college campus in the U.S. and discussed the idea of attacking a shopping mall by remotely detonating a car full of explosives in the parking garage.

She told one witness that ‘she considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources,’ according to an FBI affidavit.

The same witness said that when Fluke-Ekren would hear about terrorist attacks in countries outside the U.S., she would comment that she wished the attack occurred on American soil instead.

The affidavit also alleges Fluke-Ekren, who went by the names ‘Umm Mohammed al-Amriki,’ ‘Umm Mohammed,’ and ‘Umm Jabril,’ became a leader of an Islamic State unit called ‘Khatiba Nusaybah’ in the Syrian city of Raqqa in late 2016.

The all-female unit comprised of the wives of male ISIS fighters was trained in the use of AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts. 

The members of Khatiba Nusaybah were allegedly instructed on physical training, medical training, Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device driving courses, religious classes and how to pack and prepare a ‘go bag’ with military supplies. According to eyewitness accounts, some of these classes were allegedly taught by Fluke-Ekren. 

She also is accused of providing ISIS and ISIS members with services, which included lodging, translating speeches made by ISIS leaders, training children on the use of AK-47 assault rifles and suicide belts, and teaching extremist ISIS doctrine, prosecutors said.   

Fluke-Ekren, who once lived in Kansas, moved with her husband and four children to Egypt in 2008 and traveled frequently between Egypt and the US over the next three years

Fluke-Ekren is pictured with her family riding camels and horses at the foot of the pyramids in Egypt. She later relocated to Syria, allegedly to join Islamic extremists 

Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren (pictured with her family) wanted to recruit operatives to attack a college campus in the U.S. and discussed a terrorist attack on a shopping mall

Fluke-Ekren has been accused of trying to ransom her own children back to their father in Kansas after she fled with them to the Middle East, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Her former sister-in-law, Amy Fluke, 49, has revealed the mom began sending her ex-husband emails and notes demanding more than $6,000 for the return of their two kids, shortly after moving abroad. 

‘The first month they were away in Turkey we could still call and talk to Gabe and Alaina, but after that we lost all contact. And that broke my brother,’ Amy told DailyMail.com.

‘That’s when the really weird stuff started happening. It started with ransom notes.

‘We would get them by mail or emails. They were telling him he could have the kids back for a certain amount of money. Sometimes it was $5,000 or $6,000, and it started being more and more. I don’t remember the highest amount. 

‘But we wanted to get the children back legally, so he didn’t pay any ransom. We were trying to fight for the opportunity to get them back to the United States to have a custody hearing, and that’s when we lost all contact with the children for about five or six years,’ she added.

It was not clear whether any ransom money would have been diverted to ISIS.

DailyMail.com also found that Fluke-Ekren – who is now charged with supporting a terrorist organization – faked her own death while living in Syria and taunted her ex husband that his daughter, Alaina, was dead.

Relatives revealed Gabriel managed to escape back to the US when he was 17 and he has made a new life for himself, but Alaina’s whereabouts remain unknown and she could still be in Syria.

Amy made the ransom revelation as James Fluke spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com following his ex-wife’s court appearance Monday where she was charged with being a member of Islamic State and leading an all-female battalion armed with AK-47 assault rifles. 

‘I hope they lock her up and throw away the key,’ he said. ‘She kidnapped my kids for ten years. She’s manipulative. She always has been. She’s always wanted the spotlight. There is no way to adequately describe how manipulative she is.’

Speaking at his modest home in a quiet corner of Topeka, Kansas, he continued: ‘Imagine your wife stabbing you with a sharp object and then for some odd reason she discusses this with you to the point where you are apologizing for it.

Asked about his reaction to the terrorist accusations against her, Fluke — who fits tires and mufflers for Midas — added: ‘I can’t even wrap my head around it. I hope she gets what she deserves. I hope it’s done right.’

A criminal complaint was filed under seal against Fluke-Ekren in 2019, however, she was whisked back to the United States from Syria to face charges on January 31. 

Other members of her former family in Topeka exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com that the nature-loving Fluke-Ekren grew up as Allison Brooks on an isolated farm in Overbrook, Kansas, which could only be accessed through dirt roads. 

She and Fluke had two children, Gabriel, now 25, and Alaina, who would be 24 if she is still alive. The now alleged terrorist became pregnant with Gabriel at 17 when she was a student at Topeka Collegiate School and dropped out of high school.

But Fluke worked two jobs — washing cars by day and chauffeuring for a casino at night — so she could get her GED and later attend the University of Kansas — where she began a relationship with Volkan Ekren, a member of a powerful family in Turkey. 

It was then that she started becoming very critical of America to some members of her family in Topeka, relatives told DailyMail.com.

She also dropped out of college and is not a qualified teacher as has been reported.

A prosecutor told a federal judge on Monday Fluke-Ekren’s adult children and her parents said they wanted no contact with her

FBI alleges Fluke-Ekren, aka ‘Umm Mohammed al-Amriki,’ ‘Umm Mohammed,’ and ‘Umm Jabril,’ became a leader of an all-female ISIS unit called ‘Khatiba Nusaybah’ in the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2016

Fluke-Ekren, a teacher by trade, allegedly helped train female ISIS members and their children in the use of AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts

James and Allison eventually divorced, sparking a bitter custody battle. She then married Ekren and took the children to Turkey with him without her ex’s permission.

A Fluke family member who did not want to be identified told DailyMail.com: ‘James got Gabe back when he was around 17 after he literally escaped. But Alaina, his biological daughter, she never came back.

‘He still doesn’t know where she is. He believes there comes a time when he just cannot dwell on that. He doesn’t know if Alaina is or was in Syria, somewhere else in the Middle East, or even if she is still alive. He has no idea. He tries not to think about it.’ 

In 2008, Fluke-Ekren left Turkey and moved to Cairo, Egypt with her new husband and taught children there.

She traveled frequently between Egypt and the US for the next three years but had not been in the States since 2011, according to court documents. She is believed to have moved to Syria around 2012.

According to prosecutors, her husband was killed in the Syrian city of Tell Abyad while trying to carry out a terrorist attack in early 2016.

The alleged terrorist mom then went on to marry a Bangladeshi ISIS member who specialized in drones, but he died in late 2016 or early 2017, authorities say. 

Four months after that man’s death, she again remarried a prominent Islamic state leader who was responsible for the Islamic State group’s defense of the Syrian city of Raqqa, which became the capital of ISIS’s self-proclaimed caliphate. 

She is believed to have had at least three more children, according to her family blog 4KansasKids, where she had been documenting the family’s life overseas until 2010.

Through Volkan Ekren, Fluke-Ekren had a second daughter named Leyla, who is now living safely in the United States, having escaped the Islamic radicalism with Gabriel. 

Fluke-Ekren (pictured with school children) was quoted as telling a witness that she wanted to die as a martyr in Syria 

Former friends and family have shared details of Fluke-Ekren’s early stages of criticism for America and her eventual radicalization. She is seen as a young woman – back when she was known as Allison Brooks – with a flower tucked behind her ear in a field near Topeka, in a photo taken for an outdoor photography class in the mid-1990s  

‘James takes care of her now as well. He is incredibly protective of these now adult children and is very angry about what she put them through,’ said the family member.

‘If Allison gets a long sentence, he will probably just move on. But if she brings the kids into her defense, he will fight back.’ 

Amy Fluke branded her former sister-in-law a ‘fantasist’, describing how her character changed after marrying James Fluke. 

‘When we first met her she was sweet, really nice, seemed perfectly sane,’ she said.

‘And it was shortly after she got pregnant with Gabriel that everything went south and changed. Mood swings, really protective of what my brother could and couldn’t do all of a sudden. She was very weird about, “where have you been,” “what have you been doing?”

‘It was right then, that’s when the lies started. She would lie to people about her past. I read one article that stated she had a master’s degree in teaching, which she does not.’   

Amy Fluke, who lives close to her brother, continued: ‘She vanished for days at a time, and would say that she needed time with her friends.

‘At the time we thought that’s weird and the marriage was kind of rocky, but later on we found out that’s when she was meeting people who were interested in radical Islamic fundamentalism.

‘She mentioned that she wanted to become Muslim. She would talk a lot about how she did not enjoy the United States anymore and was very critical of it.

‘She said things in the Middle East were easier and much better, that women had a certain place in life and that that’s how she was going to raise Gabe and Alaina. She started wearing the headdress and made Alaina do the same. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but it just seems more relevant now.’

Mechanic ex-husband James Fluke, 47, spoke to DailyMail.com from the doorstep of his Topeka, Kansas home, revealing he lost all contact with his own children for 10 years after his ex-wife fled the US with them  

James and Allison had two children, Gabriel, now 25, and Alaina, who would be 24 if still alive, after meeting in high school. The 47-year-old has described his ex-wife as ‘manipulative’

While abroad, Gabriel and Alaina made secret and hurried phone calls to Amy and James in later years to reassure them, but did not reveal where they were. However, those calls also eventually stopped.

The son suddenly and mysteriously turned up in New York when he was 17, with Leyla. He gave little away about his life, or how he managed to get out.

‘At first he wouldn’t talk at all. And he is still not going to talk a lot about his mom in his life,’ Amy said.

‘But every once in a while a little snippet comes out – and that’s when we learned that she dragged them pretty much all over the Mideast, and from husband to husband. 

‘From what I understand through Gabe and Leyla, I do understand she took them to Syria. But we don’t know that for a fact.’  

‘She hasn’t been in contact with us for a very long time. Gabriel now has a house, he has a job and just seeks to have a quiet life. Gabe got back to the U.S. on his own. I have no idea how he broke free. He won’t talk about it.

‘One day, he was in New York and he called his dad and said, “can you pick me up, I’m getting out.” And James got in a car the next day and drove all the way to New York. The last time he had seen Gabriel was when he was eight.’

Fluke-Ekren’s parents Alice Brooks, 77, and Mark Brooks, 76 – who split 20 years ago – along with Gabriel and Leyla, requested the alleged terrorist be banned from contacting them through an attorney at Monday’s hearing.

A close friend of the Brookses told DailyMail.com in Topeka: ‘Mark and Alice hadn’t seen or had contact with Allison for years.

‘They knew she had gone off the page and wasn’t a good American. Perhaps I shouldn’t say that last bit, but that’s how it appears. They were a beautiful family – yet she faked her death and put them through that.’

The friend, who did not want to be named, added: ‘I knew her when she was a little girl and she was delightful. It is shocking what has happened. Absolutely heart breaking.

‘And that is how the family are feeling. They don’t want anything to do with her.’  

In all, the affidavit cites observations from six different witnesses, including some who have been charged with terrorism offenses and some who were held at prison camps for former Islamic state members. 

Fluke-Ekren met second husband Volkan Ekren  (left) – a member of a powerful family in Turkey – at university, when she was still married to Fluke. The two went on to marry and have at least three more children, according to her family blog. They are pictured above with their son Zaid

According to family members, Fluke-Ekren’s eldest son, Gabriel (left) now 25, managed to escape to the US when he was 17 and has made a quiet new life for himself, but his sister Alaina, now 24, (right) remains missing and could still be in Syria

Volkan pictured with Gabriel, Alaina, and two of his children with Fluke-Ekren, Leyla and Nael (in the back)  in 2008

A 2004 article about homeschooling in the Lawrence Journal-World featured Fluke-Ekren and her children. She told the paper she pulled her kids from public school because she was dissatisfied with how her children were performing in public and private schools. Homeschooling allowed her to teach Arabic to her kids. 

Earlier this week, her former science teacher Larry Miller shared photos of Fluke-Ekren — then Allison Brooks — with DailyMail.com. One had her holding a lizard on a school field trip and in another she looked wistful with a flower in her hair during a photography course.

‘She loved nature and she loved learning about nature,’ Miller said.

‘I do not understand how intelligent and caring people like Allison and others end up being so brainwashed to want to harm and kill others – that in most cases have done nothing to deserve any type of violence toward them.’   

Miller told The Capital Journal that he first met Fluke-Ekren in the early 1990s, when he taught her science at Topeka Collegiate School.

‘Never would any of us who knew her back then ever thought she would end up as she has today,’ Miller said.

Miller, who is now retired, told the paper that as a student, Fluke-Ekren ‘was good at everything.’ He described her then as a ‘pleasant young lady’ who shared many of his own interests, including nature and photography.

The two kept in touch over the years, and Fluke-Ekren even hired Miller to be her wedding photographer.

In 2008, Miller said Fluke-Ekren sent him an email, writing to him that she was happily married with four children, and that she was pursuing a master’s in teaching in Indiana.

Some time after that, Fluke-Ekren reached out to Miller again, asking him if he knew of any teaching positions in Kansas. Miller said he told her of one job opportunity, to which she applied and was hired, but instead she moved with her then-husband and children to Egypt.

Fluke-Ekren’s final Facebook post, dated May 5, 2008, reads: ‘Moving to Egypt. I’m a little behind the curve, but trying to learn how to use Facebook. =-) Well, after years of planning and preparing, we are moving out of the States. We’ll be in Cairo, Egypt, insha’Allah. I am teaching kindergarten, and my husband will be going to Al Azhar [University]. The kids are excited, but nervous, as am I. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated!’     

While she was allegedly planning terror attacks to kill as many as possible, Fluke-Ekren would blog about the little things in life, like her son graduating from kindergarten

A photo shared with DailyMail.com shows smiling and innocent Allison Brooks working on a science project in junior high – decades before, as Allison Fluke-Ekren, she would become an alleged  leader of an Islamic terrorist group

Other members of her former family in Topeka, Kansas exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com background details of the ‘fantasist’s’ early stages of criticism for America. She is pictured with son Nael and daughter Leyla 

A former friend, who agreed to be identified by her last name, Farouk, told ABC News the woman was ‘highly intelligent’ but had been radicalized when she lived overseas.

Fluke-Ekren was described as a ‘marksman’ who ‘fantasized’ about an attack on the U.S. and who ‘liked being in charge.’

‘She was highly intelligent … She liked being in charge, she liked running her own show and making her own decisions,’ said the former friend, who agreed to be identified only by Farouk, her last name.  

According to Farouk, who last had contact with her former friend 10 years ago, Fluke-Ekren grew up on a farm and was an ‘extremely good shooter.’ She described Fluke-Ekren as a ‘good mom’ but that her radicalization caused a divide in her family. 

‘I told people who she was friends with in Kansas, I told them, ”’This girl is radicalized,'” Farouk told ABC.

‘She was very sympathetic toward the Islamic states, and how they were doing the right thing and how we needed to, you know, support the women and children, that sort of stuff.

‘I think that she really felt people were being harmed by a larger force. And she felt the need, she had to jump in.’

When she observed her new behaviors, Farouk told others about it but was dismissed.

‘And they told me, ”No, that’s not true. How can you say that?”’ Farouk said. ‘And it made me like, it really made me second guess myself. And you start to believe like, ‘Oh, you know, maybe, maybe I’m crazy.”’

‘I was thinking, ”’This is not good.”’ I had seen it, watched her transformation,” she added. 

Fluke-Ekren faces life in prison if she is convicted of her alleged plans to commit a ‘violent jihad.’