Former Ohio State Student Sentenced On Terrorism Charge

CLEVELAND, OH – A former Ohio State University student from India was sentenced today to more than 27 years in prison for conspiring to provide support for terrorism and planning to kidnap and kill a federal judge. The sentence for Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 39, was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland today.

Upon completion of the sentence, Mohammad will be deported, a condition made as part of his plea agreement, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Mohammad and three other defendants – his brother, Ibrahim Mohammad, Asif Ahmed Salim, and Sultane Room Salim – were indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2015. The case against the remaining three defendants on the terror-related charges is pending. They have pleaded not guilty.

"For those who wish to harm the United States and support terrorists, whether in Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, or right here in Toledo, these decades of prison serve as an important reminder that America’s law enforcement will pursue justice across the globe," U.S. Attorney Herdman said. "He threatened the safety of our citizens, a judge and the independent judiciary. Now he is being held accountable."

Mohammad admitted to conspiring with his co-defendants and traveling in 2009 to Yemen to provide thousands of dollars, equipment and other assistance to known terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki, in an effort to support violent jihad against U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world, according to court documents. Al-Awlaki was later designated as a global terrorist in 2010 and identified as a “key leader” of al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, according to court documents.

Mohammad and his associates delivered $22,000 that they had raised for terror, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Although the men were unable to meet Awlaki in person, they were able to ensure that Awlaki received the money through a courier.

Mohammad also pleaded guilty to soliciting an undercover FBI employee while he was in custody to kidnap and murder U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, the judge who was handling Mohammad's case. According to court records, Mohammad told another inmate in the Lucas County Corrections Center in Toledo that he wanted Zouhary kidnapped and murdered and that he was willing to pay $15,000 to have this carried out.

Mohammad set up the deal with an undercover agent, and had $1,000 delivered by a family member to the undercover agent, and promised to deliver the remainder of the money, according to court records.

"Protecting the federal judiciary is our highest priority," said U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott of the Northern District of Ohio. "This is an example where we were able to work with our law enforcement partners to protect a judge and bring charges against a dangerous individual."

Mohammad is an Indian citizen who was an engineering student at Ohio State University between 2002 and 2004. He married a U.S. citizen in 2008.

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