US

Woman Pleads Guilty To Allegations Of Attempting To Aid Al-Qaida, DOJ Says

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A Minnesota woman reportedly pleaded guilty for trying to provide material support to al-Qaida, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday morning.

Tnuza Jamal Hassan, 22, reportedly entered her plea in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before Judge Patrick J. Schiltz at the U.S. District Court on Wednesday morning, according to the DOJ. Hassan allegedly attempted to recruit multiple students on behalf of al-Qaida when she was a freshman in college at St. Catherine Univerity (SCU) in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to court documents from 2017.

Hassan reportedly bought round-trip airline tickets for Sept. 19, 2017, that would take her from Minnesota to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and then to Kabul, Afghanistan where she allegedly planned to join al-Qaida, according to the DOJ. However, she failed to obtain a travel visa to Afghanistan and was not allowed to complete the second part of her trip.

“You guys are lucky I don’t know how to build a bomb,” said Tnuza Jamal Hassan, who has been charged for starting fires on St. Catherine University. She said it was revenge for US military action in Iraq & Afghanistan. https://t.co/mswsCABDR4

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) January 21, 2018

Shortly after, Hassan was allegedly living in the lounge area of a SCU dormitory without approval from the university, according to the DOJ. Hassan reportedly tried to set several fires on campus as a “retaliatory act against the United States for its opposition to AQ [al-Qaida] in Afghanistan.”

Her case is being investigated by the St. Paul Police Department and the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force, the DOJ announced. Hassan has reportedly been charged with first-degree arson in Ramsey County District Court.