A former member of ISIS who had lived in New York was sentenced to life in prison Friday following his conviction of supporting and recruiting for the radical Islamist group.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis sentenced Mirsad Kandic, a citizen of Kosovo, to life in prison Friday. According to the Department of Justice, Kandic was convicted of five substantive counts of providing material support to ISIS in the forms of personnel and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

“Kandic was a high-ranking member of ISIS who relished the death and destruction he wrought while providing every conceivable form of material support to a terrorist organization, including the recruitment of countless others to ISIS’s bloody campaigns in Syria and elsewhere,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his conduct and ensures that he will never again pose a threat to the United States or any of our allies. This Office will remain relentless in prosecuting terrorists who threaten the safety and security of the United States and U.S. interests around the world.” 

Kandic, who had lived in both Brooklyn and the Bronx, fought for ISIS, according to federal prosecutors. Additionally, prosecutors said that he recruited Jake Bilardi, an Australian teenager, who killed dozens in a suicide bombing. Kandic also helped gather weapons, military equipment, maps, money, and false identifications, for ISIS. 

“Serving ISIS’s deadly terror campaign, this defendant fought on the battlefield, spread propaganda, smuggled weapons, and radicalized Western recruits,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen. “The National Security Division was created to counter foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS and, with our partners, we remain committed to identifying and holding accountable those who provide support to such terrorist groups.”

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Kandic’s defense lawyer, David Stearn, asked the judge to demonstrate that “we have a shred of mercy for every human being and we believe in change.” Garafuis was unconvinced, pointing to the Kandic’s extreme actions. 

Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo thanked all of those involved in the operation. 

“Mirsad Kandic’s steadfast physical and material support of ISIS brought untold additional members into the organization, sowing death and destruction throughout ISIS territory and the world,” he said. “This investigation and successful prosecution were only possible through the close collaboration of U.S. and international partners working together to track down those who provide support to foreign terrorist organizations and bring them to justice.”

Two officials on the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission have been removed after the city council said they violated a city ordinance banning the display of LGBT Pride flags on city property.  

The removal came after the all-Muslim city council voted last month to ban the display of LGBT Pride flags on all city properties. In a unanimous vote this week, Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole were kicked off of the human relations commission after the council said the pair were responsible for flying a Pride flag on government property. 

“This Council believes in fairness, neutrality towards our residents, and the rule of law, amongst other things for this community. We passed a resolution recently to do just that, and two of our sworn commissioners outright defied it, and did what they wanted,” Council member Khalil Refai told Fox News in a statement. 

Refai added that the council considered the flying of the LGBT flag a violation of the city’s trust. 

 “We were elected by the people of the community to make these decisions, and they not only violated the resolution but the trust of the whole community by doing this. For this reason, Council felt the appropriate response was to remove them from their public positions of trust,” he said. 

The human relations commission is supposed to encourage “tolerance,” “multiculturalism,” and “constructive communication.” 

The city of about 28,000 near Detroit has a history of conflicts over LGBT ideology. As far back as 2008, conservative Christians in the community joined with the local Muslim community to oppose a city ordinance that would include the LGBT community as a protected group.

The resolution to ban ideological flags from the Michigan city’s property was introduced in June by Councilman Mohammed Hassan.

“The City of Hamtramck does not allow any religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group flags to be flown on the City’s public properties, and that only, the American flag, the flag of the State of Michigan, the Hamtramck Flag, the Prisoner of War flag on City property,” the resolution said. 

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The issue of the “Pride” flag has divided communities across the country, especially in some school districts where teachers have been found to be promoting gender ideology and encouraging students to “transition.”

A county board of education in Maryland narrowly rejected a proposal this week that would have banned the display of all non-governmental flags, which would include Pride and Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags.

On Wednesday, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted 4-3 to reject a policy banning the display of all non-governmental flags on school property.