Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A Somali-American who claimed the FBI manipulated him to detonate what he thought was a bomb at a Christmas tree ceremony in Portland in 2010 was found guilty Thursday of terrorism-related charges, the Associated Press reports.
The Mohamed Mohamud, 21, who did not testify, will be sentenced May 14.
Prosecutors were able to convince jurors that Mohamud intended to kill a lot of people in the name of radical Islam and that he was not entrapped by FBI agents who offered to help him create a bomb, the AP reported.
“Mr. Mohamud made a series of choices over a period of several years – choices that were leading him down a path that would have ended in violence,” said Greg Fowler, who leads the FBI office in Portland. “His actions showed little regard for the rights and responsibilities that come with being an American or respect for the lives that he was prepared to take.”
Mohamud’s attorney, Steve Sady, said he plans to appeal after sentencing on May 14.
“We are disappointed with the verdict,” Mohamud’s attorney, Steve Sady, said. “We obviously though he was entrapped.”
