A blast from the past

Ten Somali Minnesotans — always referred to in press reports as “Minneapolis men” or “Minnesota men” — sought to leave the United States and join ISIS in 2015. Charged with supporting a terrorist organization, six pleaded guilty and three contested their indictment at trial. One appears to have been killed pursuing his interest in the jihad.

One of the “Minnesota men” involved in the planning worked at the MSP International Airport. He agreed to cooperate with the FBI investigation and record the conversations of his fellow “Minnesota men.” When he worked out his arrangement with the FBI the first question he asked was, “Can I get my job at the airport back?” Nearly ten years later, I remember.

I covered the trial daily on Power Line and in four articles for the Weekly Standard that can be accessed here. I also documented “What I saw at the trial” in a Star Tribune column.

What I saw shocked me. If you have any interest in a retrospective, please check out the Star Tribune column. I think what we saw (and heard in undercover recordings) at the trial in the undercover recordings shocked even Judge Michael Davis, who presided, though I don’t know that for a fact.

Last week the Department of Justice issued a press release that represents something of a blast from the past:

As alleged in the criminal complaint, in December 2024, Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan (“Hassan”) attempted to travel from Minnesota to Somalia to join ISIS on two occasions, neither of which was successful. Hassan attempted to disguise the purpose of his travel as visiting family despite having none in Somalia and was traveling with his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma.

The FBI’s investigation established that Hassan publicly supported ISIS on social media through multiple posts and communicated with a Facebook account for the Manjaniq Media Center, which encouraged individuals to travel to join ISIS and touts itself as a media organization of the Islamic Caliphate. The investigation further revealed that Hassan praised Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the perpetrator of the January 1, 2025, ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans, Louisiana.

On February 21, 2025, Hassan also posted a video of himself driving while holding a small ISIS flag inside the vehicle, as well as another video of himself driving with an open knife on his lap. On February 26, 2025, FBI observed Hassan driving while again holding the ISIS flag.

“As we have all seen in recent months, ISIS and its supporters pose the gravest of dangers to our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “Those who support foreign terrorist organizations in our homeland—like Hassan—are a clear and present threat to our national security. They will be held to account.”

“The FBI will continue to aggressively use all of our authorities to investigate and arrest anyone who assists foreign terrorist organizations,” said Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “Hassan allegedly attempted to travel to Somalia to join ISIS on two occasions and publicly shared support of ISIS on his social media accounts. Such acts are wholly unacceptable, and the FBI will work tirelessly with our partners to hold accountable those who attempt to support terrorists.”

Hassan was arrested by authorities yesterday [i.e., on February 27] on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court today before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung and was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing which will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in St. Paul, before Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko.

True to the accustomed mainstream media form, ABC News reports Hassan’s arrest in a story headlined “Minneapolis man charged with trying to join the Islamic State group.”

I can’t find any story reporting the result of the March 5 detention hearing. In the 2016 case, all three defendants were held pending trial and I assume the same considerations dictated pretrial detention here, though I will follow up today to confirm that.