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Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Support ISIS

The plea follows FBI surveillance that foiled two December travel attempts to reach Somalia to join the group.

FILE - The U.S. District Courthouse for the District of Minnesota is shown on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Nikolas Liepins, File)

Overview

  • Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, 23, entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in St. Paul before Judge Donovan Frank to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
  • He remains in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled, and the charge carries a statutory maximum of 15 years in prison.
  • Prosecutors say airline staff blocked his first December 2024 departure for lacking proper documents and federal officers questioned him during a second attempt, causing him to miss that flight.
  • Investigators report finding texts with an apparent ISIS recruiter and pdf files described as instructions for making explosives on his phones, along with searches related to weapons and ISIS.
  • Court filings say he praised ISIS-inspired violence online and was seen displaying an ISIS flag, which authorities cite as evidence supporting their disruption of his efforts.