Minnesota teen accused of Mall of America terror plot to remain jailed

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge ruled on Monday that an 18-year-old from Minnesota accused of planning a terror attack at the Mall of America must remain in custody, the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors say the suspect bought an AK-47 from an undercover FBI employee.

The suspect, Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, is an American-born U.S. citizen of Somali descent. U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster said he would not be released because he is a risk to the community and a flight risk.

Mohamud was arrested on Oct. 6 after meeting an FBI employee who posed as a member of the Islamic State group, according to authorities. He paid $600 for a rifle, 200 rounds of ammunition and four 30-round magazines, authorities said.

Authorities said Mohamud planned to attack the mall on Oct. 24. That day a scheduled arts celebration by the Hmong community, Minnesota's largest Asian ethnic group, was due to take place at the mall. Mohamud was arrested at a public park in Richfield, the Minneapolis suburb where he lived, several miles northwest of the mall.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar told the hearing that the suspect was "100% committed" to the crime and to carrying it out on behalf of ISIS. He said the case was "as close to committing a terrorist attack as he could have gotten."

FBI Special Agent Keegan Rupenthal testified that Mohamud "wanted to harm as many people as possible." Rupenthal said the teen's "ultimate goal was to become a martyr" and that he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group's leader during his arrest.

Mohamud's attorney, Manny Atwal, told the hearing that her client was 16 when the confidential informant first contacted him. She said his only access to weapons had been through items supplied by the FBI. Atwal had asked that he be held in a halfway house, monitored by GPS and denied internet access. The judge did not accept that request, according to the ruling reported by the AP.

Rupenthal said the confidential informant told Mohamud on several occasions that the attack was a serious matter and that he could back out. "He said that he was 100% committed to doing it and that he wasn't being pressured," Rupenthal testified.

Critics say the FBI's sting strategy can amount to entrapment. The bureau has foiled several alleged attacks through operations in which agents posed as supporters of terror groups and supplied advice or equipment. Defence arguments on entrapment have not been reported in the hearing coverage.

Background

Mohamud had been on the FBI's radar since December 2024, when he began exchanging messages with a confidential informant. According to Rupenthal's affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, he first showed interest in travelling to Somalia to fight for al-Shabab militants. He later said he did not have enough money to travel overseas and decided to carry out an attack in Minnesota instead. The affidavit also says he expressed admiration for terror attacks that had happened in the United States.

In May 2025, FBI agents went to Mohamud's home. His mother told them he was not home from school yet. She called the boy's father, who declined to speak with the agents and said he would pass their contact details to his lawyer, the complaint said.

Tens of thousands of people of Somali descent live in Minnesota. Many arrived as refugees from the 1990s onward. Over the years, several people of Somali descent in the state have been charged with attempting to join militant groups.