Minneapolis man found guilty of aiding Somalia terrorist group

Dan Browning - A one-time janitor at a Minneapolis mosque was found guilty Thursday of conspiring to help a terrorist group recruit young Minnesota men for a holy war in their native Somalia.

Article Keydmedia Online
19 October 2012

A federal jury in Minneapolis deliberated about 8 1/2 hours before convicting Mahamud Said Omar, 46, in a case that provided the clearest picture to date of a worldwide investigation into the recruiting of at least 20 young men to fight in Somalia with Al-Shabab, a U.S.-designated terror group.

Omar, 46, of Minneapolis, rocked gently in his seat and studied the jurors dispassionately as the verdict was read.

Guilty on count one: conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. Guilty on count two: providing material support to terrorists. Guilty on count three: conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, namely, the Islamist group Al-Shabab. Guilty on count four: providing material support to Al-Shabab.

Each of those charges carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Omar swallowed hard in advance of the last verdict, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison: guilty of conspiring to kill or maim people.

The reading of the verdict took just five minutes. Omar, dressed in a black sports coat and blue pinstriped shirt, shook it off quickly. As deputies led him from the courtroom, he turned to his family members, smiled broadly and raised both hands over his head, as if declaring victory.

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