Friday, June 24, 2005

Minnesota Man Connected To Al Qaeda

Terrorist Mohammed Warsame
A Minneapolis man faces new charges connected to terrorism. Mohammed Warsame, 31, is accused of helping Osama bin Laden's terrorism network. The former student at Minneapolis Community and technical college is believed to have once shared a meal with Osama bin Laden. He now faces a total of five charges after a federal grand jury has just indicted him. Warsame moved to Minnesota in 2002 from Afghanistan to be with his wife and child. Last year, he was accused of conspiring to support Al Qaeda. Now a federal grand jury has also indicted him for providing support and resources to the terrorist group. He also faces three new charges of making false statements to federal investigators.
False statement number one: telling them that since 1995, he only traveled to Saudi Arabia and Somalia - when, in fact, they say, he traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan for military training.
False statement number two: Warsame claimed he didn't have any subsequent contact with al Qaeda after moving to Minnesota - but in truth, they claim, he maintained frequent contact.
False statement number three: that he did not send money to support the terrorist organization - investigators claim he actually wired $2 thousand to an associate.
Warsame will now have to be arraigned in federal court. A date hasn't been set yet. If he's convicted on all charges, he could get up to 45 years in prison and more than a million dollars in fines.