Man Charged With Threatening Att'y General Over Terror Charges
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man has been charged with making threats in retaliation over the six Minnesota men who prosecutors say were trying to join ISIS.
Mahamed Abukar Said is accused of tweeting that he would "whack" the U.S. Attorney General, and said that he would "kill for those guys."
In reply to a tweet, he also said "the Feds are getting two choices. Either they gon free my bros or they gon have a massacre happen."
According to the complaint, Said also tweeted a photo of the informant who has been supplying the FBI with information on the six men now charged. The tweet has since been removed, but the charges say the FBI captured a screenshot, in which Said is shown calling the informant out as a "snitch."
Said faces charges of impeding and retaliating against fed law enforcement and of using interstate comment stuns to make threats of injury.
The charges can carry a 10-year sentence upon conviction.
The arrests of the four men sparked many emotions, from sadness to skepticism to anger. And many said they don't believe these men were really trying to go oversees and fight for ISIS as the FBI claims.
After news of Said's arrest, Somali Community Advocate Omar Jamal urged others to be patient, denouncing anyone who wants to spread messages of more violence and hatred.
"It's about a time we work with the government to come up with a solution to save our kids from war in Iraq and Syria, but also from prison," he said.
Said's next court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. The western district court of Wisconsin will try the case because it is believed the threat was toward Minnesota's U.S. Attorney, although the tweet said "U.S. Attorney General."
Also on Friday, it was reported that one of the two men accused of trying to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group would be sent to stand trial in Minnesota. A hearing is scheduled in San Diego for the other.