MINNEAPOLIS — Promising both “true brotherhood” and “fun,” several Somali men convinced fellow immigrants in Minneapolis to return to their East African homeland and take up arms with a terrorist group, according to federal charges unsealed Monday against eight people.
The charges are part of an investigation into the disappearance of as many as 20 young men from Minneapolis over two years — most of them U.S. citizens who federal authorities say are guilty of terrorism. Prosecutors say most of the men traveled to Somalia to join the terrorism group al-Shabab, which the U.S. State Department says has links to al-Qaeda.
Fourteen people have been charged in the investigation. The eight charged Monday are accused of a mix of recruiting and raising funds for the trips, and of engaging in terrorist acts in Somalia.
