COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 An Ohio man who admitted he plotted to kill U.S. military members after receiving training in Syria apologized to his family and adopted country Monday before a federal judge sentenced him to 22 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After returning to the U.S., Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud planned to fly to Texas and attack the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth in an attempt to free Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist convicted of shooting at two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, Judge Michael Watson said as he outlined the allegations against Mohamud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohamud, 26, told Watson he knew what he\u2019d done was wrong and that he\u2019d fallen into the trap of radicalization while abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you have any idea how misguided that was?\u201d Watson asked Mohamud before he sentenced him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d replied Mohamud, who appeared in jail clothes and had shackles around his ankles and his hands chained to his waist. \u201cI wish I could take it back, your honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watson said he based the sentence on the \u201cdeadly serious\u201d nature of the crime and the need to deter others from considering similar actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watson drew attention to the fact that Mohamud applied for a passport to travel abroad only a week after he became a U.S. citizen in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohamud was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. as a 2-year-old child. He was arrested in 2015 and pleaded guilty a few months later. The attacks were never carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohamud bought a ticket to Greece with a stop in Turkey, where he disembarked before going to Syria, prosecutors said in court documents. They said he never intended to go to Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohamud trained with al-Nusrah Front, a terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda, according to the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense attorney Sam Shamansky asked for leniency, saying Mohamud didn\u2019t have his father around when he was growing up, was brainwashed while abroad \u201cby professional head twisters\u201d but later realized his error and abandoned his plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a scared, confused, 23-year-old kid, an American kid, who gets his head twisted,\u201d Shamansky said. He called Mohamud\u2019s plan \u201cnonsensical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prosecutors noted Mohamud contacted others from jail after his arrest and told them not to say anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBefore Sept. 11, 2001, a plot to take down the twin towers would have been considered nonsensical,\u201d said assistant U.S. attorney Doug Squires. \u201cBecause of the FBI, this plot was taken down, and we\u2019re all safer for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several members of Mohamud\u2019s family were in court but did not speak. Watson said, referring to a letter Mohamud\u2019s sister had written, \u201cYour actions have shaken the whole family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An investigation continues. Watson made reference to a plot involving at least five people. Shamansky referred to a group he called \u201cthe basketball five,\u201d but wouldn\u2019t elaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judge also sentenced Mohamud to 10 years of supervision after his release from prison and ordered him to earn his GED while behind bars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An Ohio man who admitted he plotted to kill U.S. military members after receiving training in Syria apologized to his family and adopted country Monday before a federal judge sentenced him to 22 years in prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":91716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2047],"class_list":["post-56053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PRLNRFJEI5AYXAYF5ZW6WXWWMU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/2018\/01\/22\/ohio-man-sentenced-to-22-years-for-plot-to-kill-us-troops\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n