Mohammed Warsame
Mohammed Abdullah Warsame | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 12, 1973 Somalia |
| Known for | Detained by FBI on terrorism charges related to alleged Taliban involvement |
Mohammed Abdullah Warsame (born August 12, 1973) is a Canadian national who was detained by the FBI in Minneapolis in 2003. Authorities accused him of participating in Afghan militant training camps and fighting alongside Taliban forces, charging him with conspiracy to support terrorist activities.
On June 4, 2025, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police apprehended Warsame in Montreal following allegations that he intended to carry out a significant attack and possessed knowledge related to bomb-making.
Life
Warsame relocated from Somalia to Canada in 1989. In 1995, he entered into an arranged marriage with American citizen Fartun Farah. While she resided in Minneapolis, Warsame was employed in Toronto and made occasional visits to the United States. Their daughter Maryam was born in 1998.
Between 2000 and 2001, inspired by reports of an idealized society, Warsame traveled to Afghanistan where he attended two militant training camps under the alias Abu Maryam. He reportedly transferred $2,000 to a militant contact, provided English instruction at both the camps and a nearby clinic, engaged in combat against Northern Alliance forces supporting Taliban rule, and shared meals with Osama bin Laden.
In early 2001, when seeking financial assistance to bring his wife and child from the U.S., militants instructed him to leave and offered airfare back to Canada. Disappointed by his experience, he returned home. The following year, he permanently relocated with his family to the U.S., enrolling at Minneapolis Community and Technical College where he tutored students in computer science.
2003 arrest
On December 8, 2003, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) approached Warsame; he voluntarily agreed to an interview during which he discussed his time in Afghanistan. He was arrested the following day and secretly detained at Hennepin County Jail for two weeks. During this period, authorities registered him under an alias and prevented documentation when his public defender met with him.
He was subsequently moved to New York City and formally charged on January 21, 2004. While in custody, he claimed that officials attempted to pressure him into falsely implicating Zacarias Moussaoui in the 9/11 attacks; after refusing, he faced charges related to terrorism support.
Initially accused by the FBI of providing false statements, it was later admitted that Warsame had been truthful throughout the interrogation process.
His defense team contends that his nearly six-year pretrial detention was unprecedentedly long in U.S. history. On May 20, 2009, federal prosecutors announced that Warsame had entered a guilty plea to one count of "conspiring to support al-Qaida," resulting in dismissal of the other charges.
As part of the plea agreement, four out of five charges were dropped. He conceded to "conspiring to provide material support and resources to Al-Qaida."
According to his attorneys, Warsame acknowledged attending a training camp in 2000 but denied participation for jihadist purposes. He initially traveled believing Afghanistan represented a Muslim utopia but became disillusioned and sought to return to North America. Due to financial constraints, he joined the camp for basic sustenance. He also sent money back to a camp acquaintance as repayment for a loan that enabled his return to Canada.
Namesakes
As reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, another individual from Minneapolis named Ahmed Mohammed Warsame faced a delay exceeding two years in his US citizenship application due to having the same name. Originally from Somalia, Ahmed moved to the United States at age 17 in 1995 and completed his high school education in Minneapolis.
Marilu Cabrera, an immigration official, explained that the holdup was caused by a backlog in FBI fingerprint processing, highlighting that 30,000 requests submitted in May 2006 were not addressed until 2008.
External links
- Terror suspect freed upon arrival in Canada: lawyer October 11, 2010