Tuesday May 10, 2016
By Jennie Lissarrague & Stephen Tellier
The first wave of jury selection wrapped up Monday in the trial of three Somali-Minnesotan men accused of terror-related charges.
Twenty-two-year-old Mohamed Farah, 21-year-old Guled Omar and 22-year-old Abdirahman Daud are accused of trying to support a foreign terrorist group and conspiring to commit murder outside the United States. Prosecutors say they were heading overseas to join the Islamic State group in Syria before FBI agents arrested them in April 2015.
Jury selection began Monday with U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis asking potential jurors questions about their views on terrorism, media exposure to the case, views on law enforcement and any potential prejudices.
Fifty potential jurors started in the courtroom, but at least 10 were dismissed by 3:30 p.m. for various reasons, including admissions that they could not be fair and impartial as well as conflicts with work schedules and other personal matters. One juror was dismissed after she told the judge that she was the first cousin of Omar’s defense attorney. Another told the judge she was uncomfortable even being in the same room as three defendants accused of supporting terrorism.
Davis asked the jurors if they ever had contact with minority groups, specifically Somali-Americans. He probed to find out if jurors may intentionally or unintentionally pre-judge the suspects.
“We have three Somali-Americans on trial,” Davis said to the potential jurors. “Is that going to cause you any problems?”
“This is terrorism,” Davis went on to say in regard to the nature of the case. “If you have strong feelings one way or another or fears dealing with the idea of terrorism, I need to know that.”After proceedings ended on Monday afternoon, Sadik Warfa, a Somali community leader, joined by the mothers of the defendants, called for a fair trial and a fair jury. Warfa raised concerns over a perceived lack of diversity in the jury pool, which included only a few people of color on Monday.
Jury selection is expected to continue into Tuesday. Opening statements are likely to occur on Wednesday.
Davis told potential jurors that they should expect the trial to occupy "20 working days," and most expect the trial to last at least three weeks.
Motion for New Lawyer
Davis ruled Monday morning that Murad Mohammad, the lawyer for Farah, would remain on the case.
Last week, Farah’s attorney made a last-minute request to be taken off the case. At a 9 a.m. hearing Monday before the start of jury selection, Davis listened to explanations from both Farah and Mohammad about the motion; Davis said there must be a demonstration of “justifiable dissatisfaction” to grant the motion.
Farah, dressed in an orange jail shirt and pants, read a written statement, where he said his attorney has given him “zero confidence” and only met with him a handful of times since their last April 1 hearing.
Farah also said his attorney had not discussed any of the evidence with him. Mohammad said Farah was offered the opportunity but declined.
Davis questioned Farah about why he didn’t share these concerns last month. Reading a transcript from April 1, Davis said Farah told him, “I feel I’m getting adequate defense,” and “I don’t want a new team.”
When asked if Farah was certain, he responded “100 percent,” according to the transcript read in court.
Davis said Farah knew how to write to him if he wanted to discuss these concerns before the trial. He denied the motion.
After that hearing, Davis ruled on a series of other motions.
Background on the Trial
Ten young Somali-Minnesotans have faced federal terror conspiracy charges during the past 18 months. Six have pleaded guilty, and one is presumed to be fighting in Syria. The remaining three maintain their innocence and will defend themselves this week.
"This is one of the biggest trials in the United States regarding ISIS," said Bob Fletcher, a former Ramsey County Sheriff who runs the Center for Somalia History Studies.
Fletcher has devoted the past several years to studying Somali issues in Minnesota.
"You have six defendants that have agreed to testify against the remaining three, which causes all sorts of fissures in the community about testifying against each other," Fletcher said.
Fletcher said most in the Somali community believe the suspects have done something wrong but can be rehabilitated. If the suspects are convicted, Fletcher warns that any potential punishment should be long enough to deter others, but not so harsh that it scares other families from contacting authorities when they see early warning signs.
"Our future in combating terrorism depends on one thing: information from parents and peers," Fletcher said.