24-Year-Old Said He Planned To Bomb Mall Of America As ‘Payback’ For George Floyd: Police

HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN — A 24-year-old Minneapolis man is charged with a felony after authorities say he called police claiming he had built multiple bombs and planned to attack Mall of America and Minneapolis schools.

Niman Ali Ahmed was charged Oct. 14 in Hennepin County District Court with one count of threats of violence, according to a criminal complaint. A judge signed a nationwide warrant for his arrest and set bail at $200,000.

The charges come about a week after federal authorities announced that an 18-year-old man had been arrested on accusations of plotting an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at Mall of America. So far, nothing in the complaint against Ahmed connects the two cases.

State case against Niman Ali Ahmed

Minneapolis police responded to a bomb threat on Oct. 11, according to the complaint. The caller, identified as Ahmed, told authorities he had made multiple bombs at home and planned to bomb Mall of America and several Minneapolis schools the next day.

Ahmed said he wanted "payback" for the killing of George Floyd and claimed to be part of a group that would carry out the attacks in the morning, the complaint says. He also said he planned to travel to Washington, D.C., to assassinate the president, and claimed he had been part of a terrorist group in Ethiopia as a child.

When officers arrived in the area and reached him by phone, Ahmed claimed he wasn't home and told them "you will not find us" before hanging up, according to the charges. Officers then called his sister, who said he was inside the home.

Ahmed eventually came outside and was detained. Asked about the threats, he told officers a friend had told him to call 911 and make them, the complaint says. He also claimed he was in a GroupMe chat with people planning terrorist attacks at Mall of America, and said he had demons that were telling him to do things.

Police obtained a search warrant for the home and found digital electronics, but no explosives, according to the complaint.

Ahmed was booked into the Hennepin County jail on Oct. 11 and released early Oct. 13 after his 48-hour probable cause hold expired, jail records show. The complaint, filed the next day, sought a warrant for his arrest, citing the severity of the threats and public safety.

Under Minnesota law, threats of violence is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.