FBI Arrests 2 Somali Refugees in AZ on Terrorism Charges; Trump Puts Case on Blast
The FBI announced Monday that two men admitted to the United States as refugees from Somalia were arrested last week in Arizona on charges of trying to join the Islamic State terrorist group in Egypt – or even plotting terror attacks in the United States.
And on Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump was using his Twitter account to spread the word.
“Somali refugees arresed [sic] in Tucson on way to Egypt,” Trump wrote. “They were in touch with an agent posing as a terrorist. One of them stated, ‘The best wake up call is Islamic State to get victory or another 9/11.’ Get smart people!”
Somali refugees arresed in Tucson on way to Egypt. They were in touch with an agent posing as a terrorist. One of them stated, “The best wake up call is Islamic State to get victory or another 9/11.” Get smart people! #MAGA #KAG @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2019
According to The Arizona Republic, the two men were identified as Ahmed Mahad Mohamed, 21, and Abdi Yemani Hussein, 20.
It was unclear when they were admitted to the U.S. but, according to the FBI investigation, their intentions were crystal clear: To repay the country that gave them refuge by taking up arms against it.
The Republic quoted a charging document stating:
“Mohamed stated, ‘I love jihad so much wallahi [Arabic for ‘I swear by Allah’] I give my jihad life, I only think about jihad everywhere I go, but my father and mom they don’t like jihad if they knew me I want to make hijrah they would spy me,'” the affidavit said.
According to the newspaper, the men told an undercover FBI agent that if they weren’t able to travel, they would “conduct an attack in Tucson,” The Republic reported.
Arrests in the United States of terrorist wannabes hoping to join up with bloody-minded brethren abroad are not all that unusual, unfortunately. At New York’s JFK Airport on Friday – the same day as the Tucson arrests – a Bronx man was arrested just before boarding a Qatar Airways flight to Doha, Qatar, apparently eventually hoping to join up with the Taliban.
Not every case draws presidential attention, though. The fact that the two Tucson men were Somali refugees – like Rep. Ilhan Omar, the progressive Minnesota Democrat and “squad” member with a history of anti-Semitic statements – might have had something to do with Trump’s interest.
Where is antisemite Islamist Democrat Rep Ilhan Omar to decry her fellow Somalian Americans? Crickets.
Roll on November 2020…DRAIN the SWAMP POTUS and MAGA
— EWH (@EAHarmstorf) July 30, 2019
Obviously, not all refugees from any given part of the world should be tarred with the same brush. Every individual is different, and should be considered on his or her own merits.
But according to Fox News, FBI statistics show Somali refugees in the U.S. do have an unusual propensity – particularly in Omar’s Minnesota district – for joining terrorist organizations overseas.
That’s the kind of gratitude the U.S. doesn’t need.
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