A “Minnesota man.” Lutheran? No. Funny, that. An update on this story. “Minnesota man admits Somalia terror plot,” from BBC News, July 19:
A man from the US state of Minnesota has admitted helping men of Somali origin travel to the African country to join the al-Shabab militant group.
Omer Abdi Mohamed admitted one count of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim others in a foreign country.
The 26-year-old’s plea came on the eve of what would have been the first trial in a federal probe into the recruiting of US fighters for al-Shabab.
Mohamed faces up to 15 years in jail when sentenced later.
His lawyer, Peter Wold, said his client chose to admit the charge of providing material support to terrorists because he has a family and faced a much longer sentence if convicted.
Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis allowed Mohamed to remain free on electronic monitoring.
Others charged
In a statement posted on the FBI’s website, the US Attorney’s office said Mohamed had admitted being a member of a conspiracy that recruited young men of Somali descent to travel to Somalia to fight Ethiopian troops. At least 21 are believed to have travelled from the US to Somalia.
The Ethiopian troops are assisting Somalia’s transitional federal government but al-Shabab views them as invaders.
Mohamed said in court that he had attended secret meetings and helped the men travel to Somalia.
“I helped them get tickets,” he said.
Mr Wold said his client was motivated by patriotism and wanted to help others defend his homeland from “mortal enemies”.
“[Mohamed] was only involved in a mission to protect Somalia,” he said. “Omer has nothing to do with terrorists.”….
How about jihadists?