Somali Jihadist and Ilhan Omar’s Donor Gets Slap-on-the-Wrist Sentence — 8.5 Years for Plotting to Join ISIS, Praising New Orleans Massacre That Killed 14 Americans
In yet another damning example of how radical Islamic terror infiltrates America under decades of failed open-border and refugee resettlement policies pushed by Democrats, a 23-year-old Somali migrant-turned-naturalized citizen from Minneapolis was sentenced yesterday to a mere 102 months, that’s just 8.5 years, in federal prison for actively trying to join ISIS and cheering the savage New Orleans jihad attack that slaughtered 14 innocent Americans.
U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, appointed by Bill Clinton, handed down the sentence to Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan on Tuesday in Minnesota federal court, along with 15 years of supervised release.
Hassan pleaded guilty last September to one count of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.
Federal Election Commission records show Hassan made contributions to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s campaign committee, which operates in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District. In the same community, Hassan lived and promoted ISIS propaganda.
By December 2024, Hassan was all-in. He quit his job, drained his savings, bought a one-way ticket to Somalia, and posted: “I will become ISIS straight away.”
FBI surveillance caught him trying to board a flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on December 13. Turned away for lacking proper documents, he simply rebooked and tried again on December 29. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped him in Chicago, where they discovered his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma in his bag.
During questioning, Hassan admitted his support for ISIS, rejected democracy, and declared America’s justice system “terrorism.”
Undeterred after being blocked from reaching the caliphate, Hassan doubled down once back in Minnesota. He praised the January 1, 2025, ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans, where a jihadist mowed down 14 Americans and injured dozens more, calling the killer a “Muhaajid” and “the legend that killed the Americans.”
In late February 2025, he filmed his own ISIS propaganda videos: driving at night with a homemade black ISIS flag in one hand and an open long-bladed buck knife on his lap. When the FBI arrested him on February 27, agents found the same knife on his person and the ISIS flag in his vehicle.
Press release from DOJ:
A federal district court yesterday sentenced Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, 23, of Minneapolis, MN, to 102 months’ (or 8.5 years’) imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for his attempts to Provide Material Support and Resources to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, known as “ISIS,” announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. ISIS has been duly designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State since 2014.
According to court documents, Hassan began consuming information from and about ISIS and other State Department designated foreign terrorist organizations in at least 2024. For example, Hassan obtained and reposted ISIS propaganda articles and videos (some of them extremely violent) on his various social media accounts.
He downloaded multiple files from a known media wing of ISIS, with names like, “The life of a Mujahideen,” “The month of Jihad,” “The return of the Caliphate,” and “The path of jihad.” He obtained online manuals written in Arabic on how to make highly explosive materials such as C4, urea nitrate, HMTD, and hexamine.
He openly posted his desire for jihad and an Islamic caliphate on his various social media accounts. He also obtained manuals on ammunition-making and sniper-training skills, contacted an online school specializing in gunsmithing and drone technology, and conducted online research on topics such as gun ranges, ISIS supporter, Somalia weapons, and various articles related to ISIS-inspired attacks and terroristic acts on an interactive map.
According to court documents, Hassan had frequent and extensive social media communications with ISIS media wings and recruiters operating in Somalia.
In November 2024, Hassan reached out to one such account that was spreading ISIS propaganda in Somalia and expressly calling for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and the overthrow of the Somali government, and Hassan requested help contacting someone in ISIS-controlled areas in Somalia. He also referred to persons he communicated with as “commander” and “uncle” and referenced the “battlefield” in Somalia.
After several weeks of regular communication with accounts operated by ISIS members, Hassan prepared to leave behind his life in the United States in December 2024 and posted “I will become ISIS straight away.”
Hassan quit his job, liquidated his savings, and bought a one-way plane ticket for travel from Minneapolis to Somalia, to join and fight on behalf of ISIS.
On December 13, 2024, FBI agents surveilled Hassan attempt to fly to Somalia from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Lacking proper travel documents, however, he was turned away. After acquiring additional travel documents, Hassan rebooked the same one-way itinerary to Somalia, and on December 29, 2024, he flew from MSP to Chicago, enroute to Somalia.
Prior to boarding his international flight in Chicago, Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Tactical Terrorism Response Team interviewed Hassan about his intentions, which prevented his onward travel.
Inside Hassan’s only carry-on bag, CBP agents found his birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and high school diploma. During the interview, Hassan initially denied any nefarious intent but later professed his belief in ISIS, his consumption of ISIS propaganda, and his hopes for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, telling the CBP agents that he did not believe in democracy and that America’s justice was in fact terrorism.
Upon returning to Minnesota, Hassan continued researching ISIS attacks and activities and making social media posts espousing ISIS, including his praising the perpetrator of the January 1, 2025, ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, who killed 14 people and injured dozens more, referring to the perpetrator as a “Muhaajid” and “the legend that killed the Americans.”
In late February 2025, Hassan created and posted his own ISIS-inspired videos, including of him driving his vehicle at night, while holding a homemade black ISIS flag in his hand, and displaying an open, long-bladed buck-style knife on his lap.
The FBI arrested Hassan on February 27, 2025 on a Complaint-Warrant filed with the U.S. District Court. At the time of his arrest, Hassan had the same knife described above on his person and the homemade ISIS flag in his vehicle.
On April 29, 2025, a grand jury returned an Indictment charging Hassan with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, a qualifying “Federal crime of terrorism.”
On September 29, 2025, Hassan pleaded guilty to that charge before Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court.
On April 22, 2026, following a hearing in U.S. District Court, Judge Frank sentenced Hassan to 102 months’ imprisonment, followed by 15 years of supervised release with special conditions.
“Abdisatar Hassan took active steps in an attempt to join and support ISIS—a brutal foreign terrorist organization responsible for the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people,” said FBI Minneapolis Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson.
“Hassan celebrated the 2025 murder of 14 innocent Americans in New Orleans—a senseless attack on American soil, attempted to travel in order to take up arms on behalf of ISIS, and when unable to get to his destination, promoted ISIS and al-Shabaab propaganda encouraging others to fight against the United States. The sentence handed down today takes a would-be terrorist off the streets and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will unremittingly pursue anyone seeking to join or support a foreign terrorist organization.”
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