Philadelphia woman charged in plot to join ISIS to remain jailed

PHILADELPHIA -- A judge has ordered a Philadelphia woman jailed pending trial on charges she tried to join and martyr herself for ISIS.

The judge's ruling came after prosecutors argued at a detention hearing Thursday that 30-year-old Keonna Thomas is a flight risk and a threat to the community.

Thomas has been in custody since her arrest last week. Prosecutors say the unemployed mother of two young daughters made arrangements to fly to Spain last month with hopes of reaching Syria to fight with the terror group.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Willis says Thomas would've boarded the flight had federal agents not served a search warrant on her home days earlier.

Defense attorneys argued Thomas should have been sent home with a GPS tracking device.

Only Action News was there last month, when FBI agents raided her home in the Spring Garden section, preventing her from leaving the U.S.

According to the criminal complaint filed in federal court, Thomas posted the following statement on Twitter: "If we truly knew the realities, we all would be rushing to join our brothers in the front lines pray ALLAH accept us as shuhada (martyrs)."

She then applied for a U.S. passport, disabled her Twitter account and contacted an ISIS fighter in Syria, who asked her if she wanted to be part of a martyrdom operation, prosecutors say.

Thomas allegedly responded by stating, "that would be amazing....a girl can only wish."