FBI Thinks Kent State Professor May Have ISIS Connections

A Kent State University professor is being investigated by the FBI over possible connections to ISIS, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. While the university isn't commenting on the investigation, the Cleveland Scene alleges history professor Julio Pino was possibly suspected of recruiting for the terrorist organization. Pino tells the Beacon Journal it's probably his record on Middle East issues while at Kent State that ran him afoul of the FBI. Over the past 14 years, Pino eulogized a suicide bomber in the school paper, criticized US policy in the Middle East in multiple letters to the editor, was questioned by the Secret Service over his beliefs, shouted "death to Israel" during a lecture by a one-time Israeli diplomat, and blamed the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians on "academic friends."

Pino, a former Fulbright Scholar, also once took a paid six-week trip to the United Arab Emirates to learn Arabic, leading to the firing of his department head, the Scene reports. Furthermore, Fox News found a post on what appears to be Pino's Facebook page "praising Osama bin Laden and urging al-Qaeda fighters to merge with the black-clad terror army," as the network puts it. The university has not suspended Pino, as he is tenured. "We find Prof. Pino’s comments reprehensible & counter to our core values," the university's president tweets. "He does not speak on behalf of @KentState." Pino himself tells the Beacon Journal he's done nothing wrong and has no connection to ISIS, and adds, "As they say, 'Haters gonna hate.'" (More Islamic State stories.)