“Minnesota Men” Go to Trial
19th May 2016
A minor witness testifying briefly yesterday made for a highly symbolic moment during the trial of the “Minnesota men” charged with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS. In mid-afternoon The prosecution called Bashi Ibrahim to the stand. Ibrhaim required a Somali translator for his testimony. Though he arrived in Minnesota with the first wave of Somali immigrants almost 25 years ago, in 1992, he was unable to understand the questions, or give his answers, in English.
‘Sure, go ahead, let ’em in! They’ll assimilate just like the Italians and the Poles and all those other immigrants.’
Through the translator, Ibrahim testified that Yusuf Jama was one of his sons. Jama graduated from Minneapolis Public Schools in August 2012. After high school Jama worked as a teacher at an Islamic school.
Jama was determined to join the jihad with ISIS in Syria. He tried unsuccessfully to leave in May 2014 along with defendant Guled Omar and a friend who later turned and became a confidential source for the government. (The confidential source has now been identified as Abdhirahman Bashiir; Bashir took the stand at the end of the afternoon.)
Trump’s program is looking better and better.