“Minnesota men,” airport edition

[Valin]

Power Line:

Scott Johnson

December 27, 2015

 

This past April six “Minnesota men” were charged with seeking to support ISIS by joining up with the group in Syria. The charges represented the culmination of a 10-month FBI investigation conducted out of the FBI’s Minneapolis office. The office of the United States Attorney for Minnesota initiated the case by the filing of a criminal complaint and supporting FBI affidavit that are available online here. The Department of Justice posted a press release announcing the charges. I wrote about the case in the Weekly Standard article “The threat from ‘Minnesota men” and have a follow-up column in tomorrow’s Star Tribune that should be accessible online tonight.

 

The case against the six men is not the whole story. The FBI has brought charges against a total of ten “Minnesota men” involved in the same venture. Charges in the tenth such case were filed earlier this month against Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame. The criminal complaint and underlying FBI affidavit are posted online here. The Star Tribune story on the charges against Warsame here.

 

(Snip)

 

Last week at a probable cause/pretrial detention hearing the FBI unveiled some of its evidence, though it didn’t precisely answer that question. Describing him as “an Eagan man,” the Star Tribune reported on the detention hearing here.

 

The FBI affidavit supporting the criminal complaint against Warsame shows him to be the ringleader of the group of ten. Last week’s hearing revealed that he was also a former employee of the Metropolitan Airports Commission working at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

 

What???

 

FBI Special Agent Daniel Higgins testified at the probable cause hearing last week that Warsame worked as a baggage handler at MSP International Airport with access to airplanes from April to August of 2014.

 

Perfect.

 

But wait! There’s more.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

From the mixed-up files of Mr. Abdirizak M. Warsame
Scott Johnson
Mar. 11 2016

I took a look at the Somali Minnesotans charged with seeking to join ISIS in the December 7 Weekly Standard article “The threat from ‘Minnesota men.'” Four of the ten have pleaded guilty to terrorism charges before Judge Michael Davis, including Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame. Last week Judge Davis adopted an experimental sentencing program to apply to these four cases. In the new issue of the Weekly Standard I focus on the case of ringleader Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame in the article “Judging the ‘Minnesota men.'”

 

We haven’t heard much about Warsame’s case, but it warrants close attention. Warsame worked on the tarmac at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for eight or nine months, until August 2014, and aspired to blow airplanes out of the sky with rocket-propelled grenades. In the article, I take a look at the plea hearing before Judge Davis last month:

 

(Snip)

[nickydog]

Minnesota men warrant close watching. I've always known that.