By Matthew Dolan
COLUMBUS, Ohio--Three months after he returned from training
with violent extremists in Syria, a 23-year-old Ohio man hosted a
shooting group at a local gun range, federal authorities allege in
newly unsealed court papers.
Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud rented a shooting lane in the Columbus
area last September, court papers say. When a range officer offered
to instruct him and his two associates how to use their borrowed
pistol, Mr. Mohamud allegedly declined, implying he could teach the
others.
"Organizing weapons training is consistent with individuals who
previously obtained training from...training camps to, upon return
to their homeland, seek to recruit a group of young male adults in
order to lead them to be like-minded jihadist believers prepared to
fight," Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Stephen
Flowers wrote in court documents.
Mr. Mohamud never launched an attack. But affidavits used to
secure search warrants of his Facebook accounts and home provide a
glimpse into the monthslong investigation by the FBI into an
alleged foreign-trained fighter who hoped to launch attacks in the
U.S. at the behest of a radical Islamic cleric.
Mr. Mohamud, a high-school dropout convicted only of skipping
out on a restaurant check, was charged last week in federal court
with providing material support to terrorists, providing material
support to the al Qaeda affiliate known as Nusra Front, and lying
to federal agents. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial
in June.
In an interview, his attorney Sam Shamansky said that the
indictment against Mr. Mohamud has no evidence that his client
attempted to stockpile weapons or had a detailed plan of attack.
Mr. Mohamud maintained in conversations with the FBI that he never
left Istanbul during the period in which the government says he
went to Syria, according to the indictment.
FBI agents involved in the matter declined to comment on the
case. Speaking generally, law-enforcement officials in Columbus
said the federal agency had a strong working relationship with
local residents to combat terrorism and meets quarterly with the
area's Somali-American community, one of the largest in the U.S.,
to discuss security issues.
The FBI first spoke to Mr. Mohamud more than a year ago, but
that intervention didn't appear to prevent the native of Somalia
from traveling overseas. During the Feb. 20, 2014, interview,
federal agents said Mr. Mohamud tried to lie about his identity. He
first told investigators he was his older brother, Abdifatah Aden,
who had already left the U.S. in 2013 and was believed to be
fighting in Syria on behalf of Nusra Front and raising money for
the cause, according to court documents.
"When challenged about his truthfulness, he admitted his true
identity," Mr. Flowers of the FBI wrote in a court affidavit. It
wasn't clear from court documents how agents reacted to Mr.
Mohamud's reversal.
In April of last year, two months after his FBI interview, Mr.
Mohamud, who had recently become a U.S. citizen, bought a one-way
plane ticket to Athens, with a layover in Istanbul. But, according
to the indictment, he never got on the flight to Greece. Instead,
he allegedly met up with men who took him to Syria. Mr. Aden, the
brother, later died in battle in June 2014, prosecutors said.
The documents originally filed under seal in U.S. District Court
in the Southern District of Ohio provide new details about how the
brothers allegedly kept in touch. While Mr. Aden took up arms in
Syria, Mr. Mohamud scrambled to send him money and then follow in
his tracks.
The FBI also alleges that several people including Mr. Mohamud
tried to alter their social-media accounts, including removing
photos linking them to extremist groups, to cloak their activities
in Syria.
Court documents allege that he also set up a bank account in the
U.S. so that other supporters could funnel money through Mr.
Mohamud to his brother. He also bought a tablet computer in the
hopes of bringing it overseas and giving it to his brother to help
with fundraising.
Just before he was to begin fighting in Syria, a cleric
allegedly told Mr. Mohamud he should instead go home and launch an
attack on U.S. soil. After his return, Mr. Mohamud allegedly told
informants he wanted to attack military or police targets.
Write to Matthew Dolan at matthew.dolan@wsj.com
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