Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 39, a former Ohio man, has pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and soliciting the murder of a federal judge, authorities announced today.
Mohammad, an Indian citizen, was an engineering student at Ohio State University between 2002 and 2004. He married a U.S. citizen in 2008.
The charges against Mohammad include one count of conspiracy to provide and conceal material support or resources to terrorists and one count of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja for the Northern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony of the FBI’s Cleveland Field Division, and U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott of the Northern District of Ohio.
On July 22, 2009, Mohammad travelled to Yemen to meet Anwar Al-Awlaki and deliver $22,000 that they had raised. Although they were unable to meet Al-Awlaki in person, Mohammad and his associates did ensure that Al-Awlaki received the money through a courier.
Additionally, Mohammad admitted to soliciting an undercover FBI employee, posing as a “hitman,” to kidnap and murder U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary. In or about April 2016, Mohammad told another inmate in the Lucas County Corrections Center in Toledo, Ohio that he wanted Zouhary kidnapped and murdered and that he was willing to pay $15,000 to have this carried out.
Mohammad is currently pending sentencing. He was an engineering student at Ohio State University between 2002 and 2004 and married a U.S. citizen in 2008.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Michigan, with the assistance of the Northern District of Ohio.
The FBI will continue to work with our partners to ensure the safety of those that uphold the rule of law. Protecting the federal judiciary is our highest priority, said U.S. Marshal Elliott.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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