Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis are set to discuss “a significant counterterrorism law enforcement action” Wednesday afternoon.
Federal authorities allege Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud “knowingly received a firearm and ammunition” while knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, they would be used to commit a felony and a federal crime of terrorism, according to a petition filed Wednesday in St. Paul.
The petition says that includes providing, attempting to provide and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. According to the documents, in July 2026, Mohamud allegedly wrote that he might buy two pistols online and go to the Mall of America or Valleyfair in Minnesota around Christmas, though the latter is closed during winter months.
Mohamud was arrested at gunpoint by the FBI Tuesday after he left an undercover employee’s vehicle carrying an AK-47 rifle, four magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition, according to a federal affidavit filed Wednesday in Minnesota. The petition describes the weapon as a Norinco AK-47 assault rifle, model Mac-90 Sporter, and says there were about 200 live rounds of ammunition.
The affidavit alleges Mohamud told an FBI confidential source he planned to carry out an attack in the United States and pledged allegiance to ISIS in a video. It says there is probable cause to believe he violated a federal firearms law on or about Oct. 6.
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson are scheduled to hold a news conference on the matter Wednesday at noon.
How to watch:Â
- What: DOJ, FBI to discuss “significant counterterrorism law enforcement action.”
- Who: Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, FBI Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson.
- When: 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
- How to watch: In the attached video, the video player below and streamed in full on YouTube.
The affidavit describes Mohamud’s talk escalating from violence in general, to travel abroad, to an attack at home:
In January 2025 text messages, Mohamud allegedly wrote that if he failed school he would turn to killing non-Muslims, and that he would probably save up for a gun.
By May 2026, he was talking about traveling to Somalia to fight. He said that if airport officials stopped him, he would tell them he was on vacation to see his parents’ country, then never take the flight back, the affidavit says.
In September, he wrote that he had been watching video of the 2016 attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and thought he “can do the same thing” as the gunman in that mass shooting. “I just walk in and shoot,” he wrote, according to the affidavit.
In another message, Mohamud sent the source a selfie-style video in which he pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS, the affidavit says. In the video, he appears to be inside a residence with a red-and-white scarf covering his face and head.
On about Sept. 25, the source told Mohamud that a “brother” could sell him an AK rifle, four magazines and ammunition on Oct. 6. Mohamud replied that the date was “close,” according to the affidavit. Two days later, he allegedly told the source he wanted a fully automatic weapon.
The affidavit says he also sent the source propaganda videos tied to ISIS and al-Shabaab, both designated foreign terrorist organizations.
This story will be updated.
