Minneapolis man sentenced to 8½ years in prison for trying to join ISIS

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press on Apr 23, 2026

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A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 8½ years in prison for trying to join the terrorist group ISIS.

Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, a 23-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, received his sentence Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul after previously pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. His sentence includes 15 years of supervised probation following incarceration.

According to court documents, after several weeks of frequent communication with accounts operated by ISIS members, Hassan prepared to leave behind his life in the United States in December 2024. He quit his job, liquidated his savings and bought a one-way ticket to Somalia to join and fight for ISIS.

FBI agents surveilled Hassan at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Dec. 13, 2024, when he was turned away for not having proper travel documents. He rebooked the same one-way flight to Somalia, and about two weeks later flew to Chicago enroute to Somalia.

Customs and Border Protection’s tactical terrorism response team interviewed him in Chicago, where he initially denied any nefarious intent, but later admitted to his support for ISIS and his consumption of ISIS propaganda, prosecutors said.

After returning to Minnesota, Hassan made a social media post the following February espousing the ISIS-inspired attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured dozens on Jan. 1, 2025. Hassan also posted a video of himself driving with a homemade ISIS flag in his hand and a knife on his lap. He was arrested Feb. 27.

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