An ISIS-inspired radical who planted fake bombs at multiple Christian churches while also developing the means for a real church bombing was convicted Friday of a federal hate crime.
“This Department of Justice has no tolerance for anyone who targets religious Americans for their faith,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The perpetrator of this abhorrent hate crime against Christians will face severe punishment.”
Zimnako Salah, 45, traveled to four Christian churches across three states — Arizona, California, and Colorado — in the fall of 2023 wearing black backpacks. Salah was able to plant these backpacks at two of the churches: one in the sanctuary of a church in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the other in the restroom of a Roseville, California, church.
These props helped the radical sell his corresponding bomb threats, which Sid Patel, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento field office, indicated were “intended to terrorize people of faith and disrupt the peace of our communities.”
