The FBI indicted Liban Haji Mohamed on Tuesday for close ties to al-Shabaab in Alexandria, Virginia.
Liban Haji Mohamed, 34, has been on the F.B.I’s Most Wanted List since 2015 for ties to al-Shabaab, according to a Department of Justice press release.
He was charged Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia, for attempting to “recruit an undercover agent to provide combat training to al-Shabaab fighters.” If convicted, Mohamed faces 30 years in federal prison. (RELATED: U.S. Citizen Pleads Guilty To Supporting Somali Terror Group Al-Shabaab).
“Mohamed is charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” the release reads.
Alexandria Man on FBI Most Wanted List Indicted on Terrorism Charges
A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging an Alexandria man with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to al-Shabaabhttps://t.co/7wickDrvcB
— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) May 26, 2020
Al-Shabaab, according to the press release, is known for “recruiting Westerners” and for bombings in both Somalia and Uganda. Mohamed allegedly left the U.S. in 2012 in hopes of joining al-Shabaab in East Africa. The FBI also believes he’s an associate of terrorist Zachary Chesser, who was charged and convicted to 25 years in prison for “attempting to provide material support to al-Shabaab.”
Like Chesser, Mohamed faces charges of “planning to use his own media skills to improve al-Shabaab’s propaganda machine.”