Ex-St. Kate’s Student Tried To Help Al Qaeda: FBI

Federal investigators say a 19-year-old former St. Catherine University student tried to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization in September.

According to the indictment, on Sept. 19, 2017, Tnuza Jamal Hassan, of Minneapolis, wrote a letter encouraging her roommates to “join the jihad in fighting” and to “[j]oin Al Qaeda, Taliban, or Al Shabaab.” The letter scared her roommates, who turned it over to campus security, police said.

Authorities said Hassan lied to FBI agents about not authoring the letter.

St. Kate’s issued the following statement Wednesday:

“On March 27, 2017, three students on the St. Paul campus reported to University officials that they had received a letter from an unknown person or persons. The letter did not threaten students, faculty, staff, or the University, but did reference “join the jihad in fighting.” The University turned the letters over to law enforcement, who immediately began an investigation. The University was requested to keep the matter confidential, which it did until today’s indictment. We remain in full cooperation with the authorities.”

As previously reported by Patch, Hassan also faces an arson charge in connection with a number of fires set on campus, including one in a dormitory that also houses a daycare. There were 33 children present when the fire was set, according to police.

Hassan told police she started the fires "because she's been reading about the U.S. military destroying schools in Iraq or Afghanistan and she felt that she should do exactly the same thing," a criminal complaint states.

Hassan is currently in custody at the Ramsey County Jail.

Image via Ramsey County Sheriff's Office