Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan was arrested yesterday and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, in December 2024, Hassan attempted to travel from Minnesota to Somalia to join ISIS on two occasions, neither of which were successful. Hassan attempted to disguise the purpose of his travel as visiting family despite having none in Somalia and was traveling with his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma. The FBI’s investigation established that Hassan publicly supported ISIS on social media through multiple posts and communicated with a Facebook account for the Manjaniq Media Center, which encouraged individuals to travel to join ISIS and touts itself as a media organization of the Islamic Caliphate. The investigation further revealed that Hassan praised Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the perpetrator of the ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 1. On Feb. 21, Hassan also posted a video of himself driving while holding a small ISIS flag inside the vehicle, as well as another video of himself driving with an open knife on his lap. On Feb. 26, FBI observed Hassan driving while again holding the ISIS flag.
Hassan was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. He made his initial appearance in the District of Minnesota today and was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing which will take place at a later date.
