A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced New Jersey resident Saleh Elahwal to 17 months in prison for providing material support to the terrorist organization Hizballah. Elahwal pled guilty in December to aiding the broadcasts of Al-Manar, a Hizballah-operated television channel which produces hate programming like this.

Elahwal's attorney, Edward Sapone, seemed relieved at the sentence and acknowledged that providing satellite access and technological help to a terrorist organization like Hizballah is not activity protected by the First Amendment.

In December Elahwal admitted that during 2005 and 2006 he helped provide satellite transmission services for Al-Manar. Elahwal and co-conspirator Javed Iqbal received $112,000 from Al-Manar through HDTV Limited, a Brooklyn company they operated. Iqbal also pleaded guilty in December to providing material support to Hizballah and was sentenced to 69 months in prison. Read more about Elahwal and Iqbal's guilty pleas here.

Read more about Hizballah's longstanding efforts to raise money and smuggle weapons from the United States here and here.