Posted on 07/19/2011 4:26:40 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
To Omer Abdi Mohamed, raising money to send other young men to Somalia, to train and arm them with assault rifles to fight there, had nothing to do with terrorism.
In late 2007, he said, it was about defending his homeland against Ethiopians.
One problem: It was still illegal, federal officials say.
On Monday, Mohamed agreed, pleading guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to a single count of conspiracy to "murder, kidnap or maim" Ethiopian and Somali troops. His plea came of the eve of his trial. He would have been the first of 21 local people of Somali descent to go to trial in connection with one of the largest U.S. counterterrorism investigations since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Instead, the 26-year-old became the sixth person to plead guilty in a case that has shocked, saddened and divided the local Somali community for the past four years. He pleaded guilty, his attorney said, because zero to 15 years in prison is a lot more palatable to a young father than the risk of 50-plus years behind bars if convicted by a jury. Mohamed has a 2-year-old son and another baby boy due in six weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Ping.
Missed an opportunity.
Should have sent this guy, his family, his recruits and their families back to Somalia with “No Deposit, No Return” branded on to their foreheads to indicate that they’re NEVER allowed back in the US.
“One problem: It was still illegal, federal officials say”.
...One problem: He’s living within US borders.
Why do we let people in from places like Somalia knowing in advance that doing so will likely cause us problems?
Sadly the young Somalis he helped train will all too soon come back to the US to commit terrorism, likely in New Mogadishu (a.k.a. Minneapolis).
Been through the Mpls airport lately ?
Have I been to the Minneapolis airport lately? No. I live on a mountaintop in the southern Rockies and find myself less and less inclined to go anywhere.
In my life I’ve seen this country radically changed (ruined?) by legal/illegal immigrants who are not forced to assimilate.
Gunnison ?
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