An Arizona man has been sentenced to six years in prison for targeting four churches with a bomb plot in which he planted backpacks with the intention of disrupting worship.
Zimnako Salah, a 46-year-old resident of Phoenix, was sentenced Friday in the Eastern District of California to six years in prison, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ Civil Rights Division stated in the press release that the sentencing “sends a clear message” that “those who target people because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”
“The Department of Justice will continue to protect the rights of all people of faith to worship and live free from fear, and we will hold accountable anyone who threatens or harms them,” Dhillon said.
Although the backpacks that Zimnako had planted at the churches did not contain any bombs, investigators found that he had actual components for an explosive device at a storage unit.
“Salah’s seeming ultimate goal to bomb a Christian church would have resulted in many deaths and injuries if his plan had not been thwarted,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, as quoted in the press release.
“Today’s sentence is justified by the history and characteristics of this defendant and serves to protect the public from this defendant. And it affirms that people of all religions should be able to worship freely and exercise their First Amendment rights in this country without fear of violence.”
From September to November 2023, Salah traveled to four churches in California, Arizona, and Colorado, bringing a black backpack with him each time.
At two of the congregations he visited, he left the backpacks containing hoax bomb threats. At one church in California, he strapped a backpack to the back of a toilet. At two other locations, however, security personnel stopped him.
Last year, Salah was indicted for his actions, with court documents showing that he had expressed anti-American views. On one occasion, for example, he had an altercation with a neighbor who was wearing a hat with a U.S. flag on it, The Sacramento Bee reported.
At his storage unit, Salah also reportedly had displayed “an antisemitic statement” painted on the wall “in Kurdish along with a reference to the [Islamic prophet] Muhammad,” according to court papers quoted by the Bee.
In April, following an 11-day trial, a federal jury found Salah guilty, with Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith for the Eastern District of California saying in a statement at the time that Salah was not simply pulling “a prank.”
“His actions were designed to threaten and intimidate the congregation because he disagreed with their religious beliefs,” said Beckwith. “Thanks to the coordinated efforts of federal and local law enforcement and the attorneys from my office and our DOJ partners in Washington D.C., our communities are safer with yesterday’s verdict.”
“People of all religions should be able to worship freely and exercise their First Amendment rights in this country without fear of violence.”
