- U.S. citizen Harafa Hussein Abdi, 41, of Minneapolis, has been charged with supporting ISIS after undergoing military training at a terror camp in Somalia
- Abdi made terrorist threats against New York City and encouraged others to attack the United States, according to an unsealed criminal complaint
- Abdi was arrested abroad and later confessed to the FBI his involvement with the designated terrorist organization
A Minnesota man has been charged with supporting ISIS after undergoing military training at a terror camp in Somalia.
U.S. citizen Harafa Hussein Abdi, 41, of Minneapolis, was taken into custody abroad on Thursday and transported to the United States, the Justice Department announced.
‘Mr. “Abdi left his country to join ISIS, trained as a fighter, and actively supported the group’s propaganda efforts to spread its despicable ideology,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the U.S. National Security Division. Department of Justice.
While training with ISIS fighters in Somalia, Abdi allegedly carried an AK-47 and threatened to attack civilians in New York City, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
Messages from Abdi discovered by security forces revealed a photo of him holding the assault rifle.
Messages from Abdi discovered by security forces revealed a photo of him holding an AK-47 assault rifle
A photo from Abdi’s social media shows a hand with its index finger extended, a gesture often used by ISIS supporters
Abdi reportedly worked in ISIS’s “media” wing, where he filmed footage for distribution by a pro-ISIS media outlet.
He also encouraged others to carry out such attacks by sending audio clips of him rapping about shooting and bombing individuals in New York, the unsealed criminal complaint alleges.
“Hollow points put a hole in your Catholic vest and cut off his head, resting it on his Catholic chest,” Abdi allegedly said in an audio clip about the January 2017 attack on New York City.
‘We’re going to continue the jihad, flying through America on our way to shoot up New York.
“They’re trying to shut this thing down. We’re not going. We’re going to blow up New York,” he reportedly added.
Abdi allegedly sent messages on social media encouraging others to commit acts of terror against the US.
In other social media comments, he described how he had made “hijra,” an Arabic term used by ISIS supporters to refer to traveling abroad to join ISIS and participate in jihad, a criminal complaint.
In one image on his social media page, Abdi reportedly used a photo of flames rising from an explosion, in the shape of a hand with its index finger extended, a gesture often used by ISIS supporters.
Abdi is said to have fled the ISIS camp in 2017 after his relationship with the group’s leadership deteriorated.
He was initially imprisoned by the group, but escaped and traveled to East Africa, where he was arrested by law enforcement authorities, according to the complaint against him.
Once in US custody, Abdi admitted in an FBI interview that he had joined the training camp in Somalia.
He also allegedly identified himself in a propaganda video he helped film at the training camp while carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, promoting ISIS and urging others to join and fight on behalf of the training camp.
Abdi is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization; conspiring to receive and receive military training from a designated foreign terrorist organization.
He faces a prison sentence of fifty-five years.