A Minneapolis native, Harafa Hussein Abdi, has been indicted on charges of supporting the terrorist organization ISIS.
The 41-year-old man, who allegedly rapped about launching an attack on New York after receiving training from ISIS in Somalia, was charged in a U.S. District Court in New York. The charges include providing and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and receiving and conspiring to receive military-type training from the same.
Abdi was apprehended overseas and was brought to the United States last Thursday. He is currently in federal custody, as confirmed by the U.S. Justice Department. However, public court records do not reveal when his next hearing is scheduled or whether he has secured legal representation.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Departments National Security Division stated, "Mr. Abdi left his country to join ISIS, trained as a fighter and actively aided the groups propaganda efforts to spread its vile ideology." U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York further added, "While training with ISIS fighters in Somalia, Abdi allegedly carried an AK-47, threatened to attack civilians in New York City, and encouraged others to carry out such attacks."
According to the complaint, Abdi relocated from Minnesota to Somalia in 2015 and joined a group of ISIS fighters at a training camp in the Puntland region of Somalia. Here, he regularly carried an AK-47 rifle and received instructions on its use. He also worked in the group's "media" wing, recording videos for distribution by a pro-ISIS media outlet.
While at the ISIS camp, Abdi used social media to announce his departure from the United States and his joining of the "Islamic state." He also claimed to have made "hijra," an Arabic term used by ISIS supporters to refer to traveling overseas to join ISIS and engage in jihad. He further sent a photograph of himself wielding an AK-47 assault rifle.
In early 2017, Abdi shared an audio clip of rap lyrics that pledged support for ISIS and described acts of violence, including shooting and bombing individuals in New York City. He sent the clip to at least 20 other social media users, accompanying it with messages like "Fighting back the kuffar whos at war with Muslims if [that] is not islam then I dont know wats Islam."
Abdi's relationship with the ISIS leadership soured in 2017, leading to his imprisonment. He managed to escape and traveled to east Africa, where he was subsequently arrested. During his interaction with the FBI, Abdi confessed to joining the training camp, which was affiliated with a known ISIS leader in Somalia. He also identified himself in an ISIS propaganda video that he had helped record at the training camp.
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