The Star Tribune’s headline calls him a “Minneapolis man.” Is the salient aspect of his identity, and the reason why he is going to prison for jihad activity, really that he is from Minneapolis?
“Minneapolis man gets 12 years for Somali terror case,” by Randy Furst for the Star Tribune, May 14 (thanks to Block Ness):
One of the “middlemen” who helped send young men from Minneapolis to fight in Somalia was sentenced to 12 years Tuesday by U.S. Chief Judge Michael Davis.
Omer Abdi Mohamed, 28, of Minneapolis, is among nine people being sentenced this week in federal court in Minneapolis for their roles in helping the anti-government group Al-Shabab fight in Somalia’s chaotic civil war.
Mohamed and others met at mosques and restaurants, raising money and arranging travel for recruits to go and fight.
Mohamed cut a deal in July 2011 allowing him to plead guilty to one conspiracy count, which carries a maximum term of 15 years. He was free on bond until October, when Davis ordered him returned to jail after authorities discovered his activities as a “parent liaison” at Essential Learning of Minnesota Institute in Minneapolis, a private nonprofit school that offers after-school programs on the Qur’an.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Chief Judge Michael Davis sentenced Abdifatah Yusuf Isse of Seattle and Salah Osman Ahmed of Brooklyn Park to three years in prison.
At Tuesday”s back-to-back hearings, the prosecution made motions for lighter sentences for Isse and Ahmed because of their willingness to cooperate with the FBI in its investigation. Davis granted their motions before issuing the sentences.
Attorneys for both men said they do not plan to appeal….