FBI agents on Monday arrested Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, of Richfield, Minnesota.
Authorities say the arrest saved countless lives by disrupting his plan for a mass casualty event at the Mall of America, the famous shopping landmark located in a suburb of Minneapolis.
Radicalized in America, Mohamud drew inspiration from, among others, ISIS attacks on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in 2016 and against New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans in 2025, the FBI said.
Much like teaching a man to fish feeds him for one day, stopping radicalization on U.S. soil could save even more lives than the FBI did by foiling a mall attack.
Getting that done is the great challenge.
“We’re looking for a solution that I’m not sure exists,” John Pistole, former deputy director of the FBI, said on “Washington Watch” Wednesday.
Hate is being taught to younger generations online making it very difficult to disrupt.
“They’re radicalized online to commit acts that they probably would have never undertaken but for that online radicalization,” Pistole told show host Tony Perkins.
One of the leaders in long-distance radicalization, Anwar al-Awlaki, has roots going back to 9/11, Pistole said.
“He’s one of the best known back over the last 20 years, radicalizing people who he had very little contact, perhaps no in-person contact with,” Pistole said.
Al-Awlaki was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 1971 to Yemeni parents, making him a U.S. citizen. His family returned to Yemen when he was a child, but he came back to the United States for college. He studied at Colorado State University and later at San Diego State and George Washington University. He eventually became an imam and a popular English-language Muslim preacher.
Two of the 9/11 hijackers — Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar — attended the same San Diego mosque where al-Awlaki was an imam. They had contact with him and later encountered him again at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia.
FBI source led to Mohamud
The Mohamud investigation began in December 2024, when an FBI confidential source began communicating with him. He was initially interested in traveling to Somalia to fight for al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization, or carrying out a mass-casualty attack in Minnesota.
Eventually, his focus shifted to his home state.
Allegedly, he targeted the Mall of America because he believed it to be Jewish-owned and hoped to kill 30-60 people. The mall is a privately owned commercial property controlled by the Ghermezian family and Triple Five Group. The Ghermezian family is Jewish.
On social media, it was pointed out the landmark mall is a favorite destination for the region's huge Muslim population. So a terrorist attack there would likely have hurt Muslim families, too.
The FBI says Mohamoud expressed support for ISIS and eventually sent a video pledging allegiance to the organization.
While investigating terror suspects who are also U.S. citizens, law enforcement must tread lightly.
“They have to investigate aggressively while protecting the privacy and civil liberties of a U.S. citizen,” Pistole said.
A person’s actions are often a tell.
“Only God knows what’s in people’s hearts. We can look at actions and discern what may be going on in their hearts, and their actions clearly indicate good intent or bad intent. As Paul talks about, we will know them by their fruits,” Pistole said.
