National

Florida man lied about supporting ISIS on Facebook, now facing prison time

Robert Blake Jackson

PENSECOLA, Fla. — A 31-year-old Pensacola man could spend up to five years in prison because he lied to investigators about pro-Islamic State posts he made on his personal Facebook page, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Robert Blake Jackson has pleaded guilty to a charge of making materially false statements in a federal investigation.

Investigation into the case began in late 2014 when Jackson posted comments, photos and videos expressing support for ISIS, the FBI said.

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In January 2015, his former employer contacted federal agents to say they’d fired Jackson for viewing ISIS-related content on his work computer, the Attorney’s Office said in a release.

FBI agents interviewed Jackson in June 2015, about his web browsing and Facebook posts.

“Jackson stated that he never posted any pro-ISIS or violent content and that he only used the internet at work to search news sites,” the release said.

That information turned out to be false, and during his plea hearing, Jackson admitted that he lied to the agents, investigators said.

Jackson is currently being held at the Santa Rosa County Jail pending the outcome of a Dec. 12 sentencing hearing.