Abdi To Plead Guilty

Nuradin Abdi, a Somali immigrant, has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to plotting with a convicted al-Qaida terrorist to blow up a shopping mall the day after Thanksgiving 2003.^[1] He was due in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, to enter his plea, according to the two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the appearance had not yet happened.^[2]

Originally, Abdi was expected to plead guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, an admission coming a week before the expected Aug. 6 start of his trial.^[3]

Abdi's federal criminal defense attorney, Mahir Sherif, confirmed the last-minute hearing before U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley to discuss a possible plea.^[4]

The Justice Department accused Abdi of suggesting the plan to attack an unidentified Columbus mall during an August 2002 coffee shop meeting with now-convicted terrorist Iyman Faris and a third suspect, Christopher Paul.^[5] Faris is currently serving 20 years in a maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., for his role in an al-Qaida plot to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge.^[6]

Prosecutors say Abdi gave stolen credit card numbers to a man accused of buying gear for al-Qaida, and lied on immigration documents to visit a jihadist training camp.
Abdi's attorneys said he was merely upset at the war in Afghanistan and reports of civilians killed in bombings by the U.S.-led invasion.^[7] They have said the stolen numbers were never used and the Justice Department never alleged what organization they believed was running the camp, what Abdi intended to do with the training, or whether he ever actually went.^[8]

Federal agents arrested Abdi the morning of Nov. 28, 2003, the day after Thanksgiving, out of fear the attack would be carried out on the heavy shopping day; he was arrested at 6 a.m. while leaving his home for morning prayers.^[9]

Federal criminal defense attorney Douglas McNabb has previously discussed the crime of providing material support to terrorists in this blog, these discussions can be found here.

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^[1] Lara Jakes Jordan, Shopping Mall Plotter to Plead Guilty, Associated Press Newswire, July 31, 2007, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services File.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.