Three of Nine Minnesota Men Sentenced For Roles in ISIS Conspiracy Case

(New York, NY) –- The Counter Extremism Project today released updated reports on three Somali –American men from Minnesota who were sentenced by a federal judge in Minneapolis after pleading guilty to supporting and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS.

Prosecutors say in spring of 2014, a group of friends began inspiring and recruiting each other to join ISIS. At least two—Abdiwali Nur and Yusaf Jama—made it to Syria, but the remaining nine did not. 

Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, 21, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Abdurahman did not cooperate with the government and refused to testify against other members of what U.S. District Judge Michael Davis called a "terrorist cell."

Abdirizak Warsame, 21, received a sentence of 2.5 years in prison and has already served 11 months. The alleged ringleader of the cell, Warsame was arrested in December 2015 and pled guilty to terrorism charges on February 11, 2016, telling the judge that he was radicalized by watching videos of al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki.

Abdullahi Yusuf, 20, was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release in addition to the 21 months he had already served. In May 2014, Yusuf reportedly sought to travel from Minnesota to Turkey but was intercepted at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport by the FBI.

Sentencing for the remaining six men will continue for several more days. They include:

Adnan Farah; Hanad Mustafe Musse; Hamza Naj Ahmed; Guled Ali Omar; Mohamed Abdihamid Farah; and Abdurahman Yasin Daud.

To view the report, Anwar al-Awlaki’s Ties to Extremists, click here.

 

For requests for interviews, please contact CEP at media@counterextremism.com.

Related Press Resources

Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.

View Archive