A federal judge in Portland sentenced wannabomber Mohamed Mohamud to 30 years in prison, meaning the 23-year-old convicted terrorist won’t get out until he’s well into middle age, says The Oregonian. The tough sentence came after Mohamud has been alternately described as a terrorist hellbent on murdering thousands and a misguided teen entrapped by FBI agents into planning a bombing during the city’s 2010 holiday tree lighting ceremony.
Mohamud’s plot was interrupted by the FBI, which allowed him to push the buttons of a cell phone that he thought would detonate a massive fertilizer bomb only to find out it was a harmless fake rigged by the government. Yesterday’s sentence likely will go down as a national benchmark for homegrown jihadis rolled up in the FBI terrorism stings. Mohamud’s trial is believed to be the FBI’s first homegrown terrorism case that allowed undercover agents to testify at trial wearing disguises and using pseudonyms. The case appears to be the only FBI terrorism sting with a nexus to al-Qaida that went to trial. The sentence was considered severe, although a court report recommended a life sentence. Only time will tell if Mohamud’s punishment deters other would-be terrorists.