Hanad Mustofe Musse, Conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Minnesota 2015

Local Man Indicted for Conspiracy to Support Terrorist Organization

Hanad Mustofe Musse, 19, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. The defendant was initially charged by criminal complaint on April 20, 2015, and was subsequently indicted on May 19, 2015.

According to court documents, between March and June 2014, Musse became aware of individuals in the United States and abroad who had traveled or desired to travel overseas to join ISIL. Musse joined this group of aspiring travelers with the understanding that ISIL was a designated foreign terrorist organization that engaged in terrorism and terrorist activity.

The defendant participated in several meetings throughout 2014 in which he and his co-conspirators discussed traveling to Syria to join ISIL, including how they would pay for such travel, what routes they could take from Minnesota to Syria to best elude law enforcement, and the feasibility of using fraudulent travel documents to travel to Syria.

Musse admitted that by June 2014, he knew that co-conspirator Abdi Nur had successfully traveled to Syria and that co-conspirator Abdullahi Yusuf had attempted to travel to Syria but had been stopped by law enforcement at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Nevertheless, Musse continued to make preparations to travel to Syria to join ISIL.

Between October 20, 2014, and November 6, 2014, Musse made five cash withdrawals from his federal financial aid account totaling $2,400. He deposited those funds in a personal checking account that he opened on November 3, 2014. He later used those funds to purchase a bus ticket from Minneapolis to New York City.

Musse and co-conspirators Mohamed Farah, Hamza Ahmed, and Zacharia Abdurahman purchased bus tickets from Minneapolis to New York City, where they met at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). While at JFK, Musse purchased a round-trip ticket to Athens, Greece, which he planned to use as a transit point from which to travel to Syria. Musse knew that Abdurahman purchased a ticket on the same flight for the same purpose.

Musse’s guilty plea comes after his failed attempt to fly overseas in November 2014. He was prevented by federal agents from boarding his flight and lied to the agents about the true nature of his travel.

Defendant Name: Hanad Mustofe Musse

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

City and State: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Exact Date: November 6, 2014

Sentence or Outcome: Currently pending

Dollar Amounts: $2,400

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