Judge OKs home release for MN man convicted of threatening FBI agents

Mohamed Ali Omar and his mother, Fadumo Hussein, walk out of the U.S. District Courthouse in Minneapolis Tuesday. Laura Yuen | MPR News

By Laura Yuen & Mukhtar Ibrahim
Tuesday, June 9, 2015

advertisements

A man who was convicted of threatening FBI agents and an interpreter who came to his house is going home today.

A judge's decision to release Mohamed Ali Omar was a partial victory for a family that has two other sons accused of trying to join terrorist groups overseas.

Omar was to be sentenced today, but Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis postponed the sentencing until September while he waits for clarification from the United States Justice Department on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a separate case.

In the meantime, Omar, who has been detained since November, will be released to his home and subject to electronic monitoring.

"It's been a long seven months," said his sister, Hodan Omar. "We missed him so much. He's coming home."

Evidence at trial showed Omar had a verbal confrontation with agents and a Somali interpreter, resulting in Omar saying, "I'll knock your [expletive] in" and telling them not to return to the house.

Agents were investigating his brother, Guled Omar, in connection with the investigation into Minnesota men trying to join ISIS in Syria. Guled Omar has since been charged by federal officials on terror related counts.

Mohamed Omar's attorneys said he was reacting angrily after the interpreter called his sister "qashimad," a Somali slur for women that translates to "trash."

The interpreter admitted in court that "it was a terrible thing to say to a lady," according to Omar's attorney Paul Applebaum.

Davis said a recent Supreme Court ruling tied to threatening language was one of the most confusing he's ever read. He's expecting an opinion from the Justice Department in the coming months.

Davis said he received a letter from Mohamed Omar that made an impression on him.

"You apologized for what happened and I take that at face value," he told Mohamed in court Tuesday. "I don't disagree with what you told me. That's why it's an easy position for me to release you."

Davis called it a "complicated legal issue and I want to take it slow. I don't want you to have a wrongful conviction just to rush through."

Mohamed Omar was charged with making threats to impede a federal investigation and retaliation against federal officials.

Another brother, Ahmed Ali Omar, is considered a fugitive. He was charged with joining the terrorist group al-Shabab in Somalia.

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online