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.”
The discovery of the backpack latched to a toilet inside the non-denominational church in Roseville prompted an evacuation.
Security confronted Salah before he was able to fulfill his mission on two other occasions.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado indicated that a week after Salah placed a backpack in the Roseville church, the radical attempted a repeat performance in Greenwood Village, Colorado, on Nov. 19, 2023. Salah was, however, confronted by Kevin Heaton, then an off-duty, uniformed sheriff’s deputy.
‘Planting a hoax bomb at the Roseville church was not an isolated incident or a prank.’
Heaton, now a captain with the sheriff’s office, greeted Salah, then followed him into the church, reported KCNC-TV. When Salah made his way for the washrooms, Heaton followed. The unwanted attention prompted the radical to leave the premises with the backpack still on his person.
According the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, in between fake bomb installations, Salah was building a real improvised explosive device capable of fitting in a backpack.
During a search of the radical’s storage unit, an FBI bomb technician retrieved items that a bomb expert later identified in court as components of an improvised explosive device. There were apparently multiple propane canisters, including one with wiring jutting out from the neck as well as nails duct-taped to the side.
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California
Salah’s online social media records and search history revealed an interest in jihadist propaganda. Salah, who reportedly told investigators that he was a Sunni Muslim from Northern Iraq, apparently searched for videos of “infidels dying” and repeatedly watched ISIS execution videos.
“Planting a hoax bomb at the Roseville church was not an isolated incident or a prank for this defendant,” said acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. “His actions were designed to threaten and intimidate the congregation because he disagreed with their religious beliefs.”
Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins will sentence the anti-Christian radical on July 18. Salah faces a maximum statutory penalty of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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