By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Scott Sweetow, head of the Atlanta ATF Division, is moving on to the Midwest to head up the St. Paul Division, which includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. Sweetow, who began his career with ATF in 1990 in Los Angeles, spent several years assigned in the Arson and Explosives…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Depending on whom you ask, Mahamud Said Omar is either a well-connected member of an Islamist terror group or he’s mental ill and incapable of being an integral part of a terrorism recruiting network, the Star Tribune reports. Today the 46-year-old Somali man who immigrated to Minnesota in 1993 is expected to…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A year-long investigation into a Somali terror group’s efforts to recruit Americans may be gathering steam in Minnesota, the Associated Press reports. The FBI has been focusing on Minnesota because it’s home to the largest Somali population in the U.S., according to the AP. Fueling fears that al-Shabab is succeeding in its…
Shoshanna Utchenik ticklethewire.com An affidavit unsealed in federal court reveals a bomb plot in Minnesota involving white supremacists. The affidavit details the investigation into white supremacist Joseph Benjamin Thomas’ plot to blow up the Mexican consulate in St. Paul, Minnesota, reports the AP. Thomas, 42, and Samuel James Johnson, 31, wanted to form a militant…
Shoshanna Utchenik ticklethewire.com In general, the entrepreneurial spirit should be lauded. Unfortunately, in this case, it was purely criminal. According to an FBI press release, 15 defendants allegedly registered 80 fake business names in Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota, then used these to file for unemployment insurance benefits to the tune of $8.7 Million. Defendants reportedly…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com The remains of a suicide bomber in Somalia are being tested by the FBI. Some believe the bomber may be one of at least 21 young Somali-American men that in recent years have left Minneapolis to join al-Shabab, the Somali terrorist group, reports the Associated Press. If tests confirm the deceased…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com It wasn’t the Avon lady. It wasn’t even two generous ladies seeking donations for the poor and needy of Somalia they claimed to be. Amina Farah Ali, 35, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 64, two naturalized U.S. citizens from Somalia living in Rochester, Minn., were convicted Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The new acting director of ATF, B. Todd Jones, is no stranger to federal law enforcement. In fact Jones is on his second go around as U.S. Attorney in Minnesota. Jones, who will remain the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota while serving as acting head of ATF, was first appointed to the…
