US judge sentences three men for plotting to bomb Somalis

A federal judge sentenced three white men to 25, 26 and 30 years in prison on Friday for a 2016 plot to bomb a Kansas apartment complex that is home to Somali immigrants and their mosque.

The three suspects face the possibility of life in prison for a foiled plot to blow up a mosque in southwest Kansas.https://t.co/7TwfPM4s1G

— necn (@NECN) January 25, 2019

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren in Wichita, Kansas sentenced Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright to 25 years and Patrick Stein to 30 years on the charge of conspiring to use “a weapon of mass destruction.”

Melgren also sentenced Allen, Stein and Wright to 10 years in prison for conspiring to violate the civil rights of their intended victims. The sentences on the two charges will run concurrently. The men, described by prosecutors as members of a right-wing militia group, were found guilty in April.

In addition, Wright was sentenced to one year in prison for lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This sentence will be served consecutively.

U.S. judge sentences men to 25 to 30 years for plot to bomb Somalis https://t.co/ag9nmjgvc3 pic.twitter.com/jqxXjJQ0Kt

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) January 26, 2019

“I hope this sends a message the U.S. is a place that protects all cultures and all religions,” Stephen McAllister, U.S. Attorney for Kansas, told a news conference.

In an emotional statement in court before he was sentenced Allen, who had served in the U.S. Marine Corps, said: “I’m just ashamed of myself and I’m sorry.”

The men plotted to detonate explosive-laden vehicles at the four corners of the mosque and housing complex in Garden City, a town of about 27,000 people in southwest Kansas, aiming to level the building and kill its occupants, prosecutors said.

#US judge Eric Melgren in Wichita, #Kansas sentenced 3 white men to 25,26, and 30 years in prison for a 2016 plot to bomb a Kansas apartment complex that is home to #Somali immigrants and their mosque. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/5ClRFv5jfh

— Mogadishu Update (@Magdashi3) January 26, 2019

Officials investigated the plot for several months as the men stockpiled guns and explosives in preparation for attacking the apartment complex, where about 120 Somali immigrants lived, authorities said.

Prosecutors said the men wanted to send a message to Somali immigrants that they were not welcome in the United States.

Authorities said the three were members of a militia called the Kansas Security Force and formed a splinter group, the Crusaders. They tried unsuccessfully to recruit others to join their plot, prosecutors said, and it was one of those men who tipped off the FBI to the plan.

US judge sentences three white men decades in prison for a 2016 plot to bomb Somali immigrants and their mosque in Kansas https://t.co/q0zpu5ixLQ

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 26, 2019

“A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY AGAINST HATE CRIMES AND DOMESTIC TERRORISM:” These three will be in federal prison until they’re in their mid to late 70’s: https://t.co/HJJ8ONjALG https://t.co/hgBUaD6bNc

— KWCH Eyewitness News (@KWCH12) January 25, 2019

REUTERS