MINNEAPOLIS (KFGO/CBS Minnesota) – A Minneapolis man called 911 and said he had built multiple bombs at home and planned to attack the Mall of America in Bloomington and schools in Minneapolis the next day, but officers who searched his home found no explosives, according to a court document.
Minneapolis police responded Oct. 11 to the bomb threat. The caller, a 26-year-old man, said he wanted payback for the killing of George Floyd and belonged to a group that would carry out the attacks the next morning, the document says. He also said he would travel to Washington, D.C., to assassinate the president. He claimed he was part of a terrorist group in Ethiopia as a child and said the United States has been his enemy since then.
Officers spoke with the man by phone. He told them he wasn’t home and said, “You will not find us,” then hung up and could not be reached again. Officers called his sister, who indicated he was inside the home.
He eventually came outside and was detained. Asked about the threats, he told officers a friend had told him to call 911 and make them, the document says. He said he is in a GroupMe group chat with people who are planning terrorist attacks at the Mall of America, and that demons are telling him to do things.
Officers got a search warrant for his home and found digital electronics, but no explosives.
The man was released Oct. 13 and is out of custody. Citing the severity of the threats and public safety, the document asks for a warrant. It does not say what charges he faces, if any.
Court records list a hearing on Nov. 17 and an omnibus hearing on Nov. 30.
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