One Man Released, Another Arraigned in Minnesota Terrorism Related Cases

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man convicted of threatening federal agents during a terrorism investigation has been released while a judge weighs whether a recent Supreme Court decision affects his case.

Mohamed Ali Omar was convicted in March and was supposed to be sentenced Tuesday. Authorities say he threatened two FBI agents and an interpreter with physical violence in November after Omar's brother, Guled Ali Omar, allegedly attempted to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

Mohamed Omar had been in custody since his November arrest. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis said he didn't want to rush into a sentence until the legal issues are worked out. He released Omar pending a new sentencing date in September.

Omar has another brother who joined al-Shabab in 2007 and remains a fugitive.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man who was arrested in San Diego as authorities say he was trying to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group has made his initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Minnesota.

Twenty-one-year-old Mohamed Abdihamid Farah is one of six friends from Minnesota who were arrested in April and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Farah will return to court Thursday for a hearing on whether he should remain in custody.

Prosecutors say Farah and one other man traveled to San Diego as part of a plot to secure fake passports, cross into Mexico, then travel to Syria. They were traveling with an informant who recorded some conversations. Authorities say that Farah threatened to kill FBI agents in one of them.