Ohio Terrorist Wanted To Carry Out U.S. Attack

COLUMBUS, OH — A 26-year-old Columbus man that wanted to attack a U.S. military base has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison for training with terrorists and leading a terrorist plot, the Department of Justice announced this week. Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud will also have 10 years of supervised release following his prison stint.

“Mohamud traveled to Syria to train and fight with the designated terrorist organization al-Nusrah Front. He then returned to the United States with the intent to conduct an attack here,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Dana Boente.

Court documents say that Mohamud is a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen. In 2014, he got a U.S. passport and a one-way ticket to Greece. During a layover in Istanbul, Turkey, he decided not to board his connecting flight to Athens, Greece. Instead, he completed plans to cross the border into Syria.

Once he got into Syria, he started training with al-Nusrah Front, a terrorist cell affiliated with al-Qaeda. His older brother was also training with the group. While there, he worked on the use of weapons, tactics and fitness. He also took part in a firefight and said he wanted to die while fighting in Syria, according to a statement of facts from his guilty plea. However, after Mohamud's brother was killed fighting for al-Nusrah Front, he returned to the United States.

“He then returned to the United States with a plan to do grievous harm, recruited others to help him in his homeland plot, and then planned and prepared for attacks in the United States. Once caught, he orchestrated a cover-up beginning with his material misstatements to the FBI," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman for the Southern District of Ohio.

Mohamud reportedly wanted to attack a U.S. military base or prison and carry out three or four executions, NBC News reported.

The FBI led the investigation into Mohamud, with the help of local Ohio law enforcement. In April 2015, a federal grand jury charged the 26-year-old with one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to terrorists, one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization – namely, al-Nusrah Front – and one count of making false statements to the FBI involving international terrorism.

In August 2015, Mohamud pleaded guilty to the charges. The plea was sealed until June 2017 because of an ongoing investigation, the Department of Justice said.

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