Abdi, 32, was indicted on four counts -- two each of supporting terrorist activity and fraud and misuse of immigration travel documents. They carry a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison. Abdi was arrested Nov. 28, 2003, but his indictment wasn’t announced until Monday.
| Been having a few words with him, have you? |
He appeared before a federal magistrate in Columbus to answer the charges. He also appeared Jan. 28 in a federal immigration court in Detroit for a hearing closed to the public in an attempt to deport him to Somalia. Brock and other federal authorities on Monday were tight-lipped about what they say was a plot by Abdi, who they say underwent "jihad training" to commit a terrorist act.
Authorities, though, emphasized Monday that Abdi was arrested before he could finalize any specific plan and hadn’t selected a target of any terrorist acts he contemplated. "This plot was foiled while it was still in the planning purposes," said Bill Hunt, first assistant U.S. attorney involved in the case. "(There were) ominous threats attributed to this individual, threats to blow up a shopping mall," Brock said. "We do not believe there is an imminent threat to malls. -- We had no indication of a specific mall." Allegations of immigration violations brought attention to Abdi from federal authorities. They accuse Abdi, who Brock said lived in the Columbus area for "at least two or three years" and has family there, of using fake immigration papers to illegally re-enter the United States from Africa in June 1999. He earlier told U.S. officials he was leaving the country to visit Germany and Saudi Arabia. Instead, the indictment alleges, Abdi left the U.S. and was receiving "military-style" terrorist training, including training for explosives, guerrilla warfare, radio usage and weapons. |