Garrison Keillor? No, guess again. Bob Dylan? Nope. Jim Kaat? Sorry. Walter Mondale? Come on. Give up? It was the notable “Minnesota man” Mahamud Said Omar. “Jury convicts Mahamud Said Omar in Somalia terrorism case,” from KSMP-TV, October 18 (thanks to Christopher):
Jurors have delivered a guilty verdict in the trial of a Minnesota man accused of helping send men to Somalia to join the al-Qaida-linked group al-Shabab.
Mahamud Said Omar was convicted on all five terrorism-related counts in the government’s investigation into what it says was the recruitment of more than 20 Minneapolis-area Somali men who returned to their native land to join al-Shabab since 2007.
He could face life in prison.
Prosecutors say Omar bought plane tickets to Somalia for Minnesota recruits and paid for weapons for some of them.
Omar denies wrongdoing and says he has never supported al-Shabab. His attorney, Andrew Birrell, claimed the government’s case was built on the false testimony of former recruits because they were under pressure to find out why men were being recruited by al-Shabab….