The Columbus Shopping Mall Bombing Plot was a plan to blow up an unnamed

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

in the city of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The plot was disclosed by federal authorities on June 14, 2004, when an indictment against Nuradin Abdi was unsealed by the local

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

. Abdi was part of a clandestine cell of

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

which sought to bring "death and destruction to Columbus".

Background

Nuradin Abdi entered the United States as an asylum seeker from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. He lived in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood on the north side of Columbus. According to one report, Abdi flew to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

to train in a military-style training camp in January 2000. There, he allegedly was trained in the use of guns, guerrilla warfare, and bombs. He returned two months later. Abdi met with

Christopher Paul Christopher Paul (aka Paul Kenyatta Laws, Abdulmalek Kenyatta) is an American al-Qaeda militant, who has pleaded guilty to acts of terrorism. He is currently serving a 15-year prison term arising from those charges. Early life Born Paul Kenyat ...

and

Iyman Faris Iyman Faris (a.k.a. Mohammad Rauf;"Ohio trucker joined al Qaeda jihad"
CNN ...

at a coffee shop in

Upper Arlington Upper Arlington, often known by its initials U.A., is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

on August 6, 2002. According to Paul (who was awaiting trial for a separate plot to bomb European tourist resorts), Abdi first suggested shooting up a mall. Paul responded saying "that's a stupid idea". Abdi subsequently suggested bombing the mall, but few other details were released. Abdi was arrested on November 28, 2003, and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda, and two counts of fraud and misuse of documents. His attorneys became concerned with his mental state, and he was sent to a federal medical center in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in June 2004 to undergo tests. He was returned to Columbus in August 2004 and held in the

Franklin County Correctional Facility II Franklin County Correctional Center I (also known as Franklin County Main Jail or FCCCI) is a 650-bed medium-maximum security correctional facility located in Columbus, Ohio. It is located at 2460 Jackson Pike, Columbus, OH 43223. It opened in 1986 ...

. On July 31, 2007, Abdi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to support terrorists. The other charges against him were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Abdi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and would be deported to Somalia upon completion of the sentence. New details released at the time of the plea agreement show that there were likely more than the aforementioned three people who were involved in the plot. Documents that were filed along with Abdi's agreement note a fourth person whom the trio met with both in Columbus and in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. A 2011

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

report claimed some of the people associated with this plot were imprisoned in a highly restrictive

Communication Management Unit A communications management unit (CMU) is a type of self-contained group within a facility in the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons that severely restricts, manages and monitors all outside communication (telephone, mail, visitation) of inmat ...

References

DATA & GRAPHICS: Population Of The Communications Management Units
Margot Williams and Alyson Hurt,

, 3-3-11, retrieved 2011 03 04 from npr.org 2002 in Ohio 21st century in Columbus, Ohio Explosions in 2002 Failed terrorist attempts in the United States Islamic terrorism in Ohio Islamic terrorism in the United States Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002 August 2002 crimes in the United States Shopping mall bombings Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2002 {{US-crime-bio-stub