Zimnako Salah planted fake bombs across four churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado and worked separately to construct a real one, according to a US jury that found the 45-year-old guilty on Thursday.
Salah planted the fake bombs from September to November of 2023, after watching extremist content online, according to the US Justice Department. This content, including ISIS videos, featured “infidels dying.”
At two of the churches, Saleh was confronted by security before he was able to plant the fake bombs. However, in two instances, he was able to strap the items to bathrooms and call in a fake bomb threat to incite panic.
The jury found that Salah’s motivation had been “to obstruct the free exercise of religion of the congregants who worshipped there,” according to the department, which saw the charges escalated to include a hate crime charge.
“This Department of Justice has no tolerance for anyone who targets religious Americans for their faith,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The perpetrator of this abhorrent hate crime against Christians will face severe punishment.”
The real threat
While causing bomb scares, Salah had been constructing an IED capable of fitting in a backpack, the department said. An FBI Bomb Technician seized items from a storage locker belonging to Salah that an FBI Bomb Expert testified at trial served as component parts of an improvised explosive device.
“The Sacramento Division of the FBI is proud of our collaboration with local partners in bringing Mr. Salah to justice. His deliberate targeting of multiple places of worship and calculated efforts to spread panic were intended to terrorize people of faith and disrupt the peace of our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “The FBI remains committed to protecting the American people and will continue to work within the confines of the law to hold individuals accountable for acts of terrorism whether those acts are true threats or intended as hoaxes.”
“Planting a hoax bomb at the Roseville church was not an isolated incident or a prank for this defendant,” said Acting US Attorney Michele Beckwith for the Eastern District of California. “His actions were designed to threaten and intimidate the congregation because he disagreed with their religious beliefs. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of federal and local law enforcement, the attorneys from my office, and our DOJ partners in Washington, DC, our communities are safer with yesterday’s verdict. People of all religions should be able to worship freely and exercise their First Amendment rights in this country without fear of violence.”
Salah, who will appear before the courts on July 18 for sentencing, faces a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
