A man who threatened multiple Christian churches with hoax bomb threats, apparently motivated by Islam, received a federal prison sentence on Friday.
Zimnako Salah of Phoenix, Arizona, was convicted in March of strapping a backpack to a toilet at a church in Roseville, Arizona, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
His actions were a hate crime since he targeted the church “because of the religion of the people who worshipped there.”
Throughout the fall of 2023, Salah planted two backpacks in different churches, and was apprehended by security at two other churches while attempting to do the same.
At one church in Scottsdale, Arizona, Salah left a backpack among the church pews, according to a report from CBS News.
Congregants and security found the backpack, which only had clothes inside.
Beyond the threats, Salah appeared to be building an actual bomb capable of being placed in a backpack.
FBI agents recovered component parts of an IED in his storage unit, according to the Department of Justice news release.
Among the items in Salah’s unit were propane canisters, strips of duct tape, wires and wire cutters, a battery, and an Islamic Quran.
Salah had meanwhile looked up videos of “infidels dying” on social media, as well as videos of ISIS militants committing murders.
He said on social media that “we are going to destroy” America days before his crimes.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in the news release that “Salah’s seeming ultimate goal to bomb a Christian church would have resulted in many deaths and injuries if his plan had not been thwarted.”
“Thanks to the action of church security, local law enforcement, and the FBI, this defendant was stopped before he had a chance to carry out the crimes he sought to commit,” Grant added.
“Today’s sentence is justified by the history and characteristics of this defendant and serves to protect the public from this defendant. And it affirms that people of all religions should be able to worship freely and exercise their First Amendment rights in this country without fear of violence.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the sentence of six years in prison conveys that “those who target people because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”
“The Department of Justice will continue to protect the rights of all people of faith to worship and live free from fear,” she added.
“We will hold accountable anyone who threatens or harms them.”
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