Minnesota

Minnesota man who regrets joining Islamic State group faces sentencing on terrorism charge

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2024

Minnesota man who regrets joining Islamic State group faces sentencing on terrorism charge

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man who once fought for the Islamic State group in Syria but now expresses remorse for joining a “death cult” and has been cooperating with federal authorities will learn Wednesday how much prison time he faces.

Federal prosecutors have recommended 12 years for Abelhamid Al-Madioum in recognition both of the seriousness of his crime and the help has he given the U.S. and other governments. His attorney says seven years is enough and that Al-Madioum, 27, stopped believing in the group’s extremist ideology years ago.

Al-Madioum was 18 in 2014 when IS recruited him. The college student slipped away from his family on a visit to their native Morocco in 2015. Making his way to Syria, he became a soldier for IS, also known as ISIS, until he was maimed in an explosion in Iraq. Unable to fight, he used his computer skills to serve the group. He surrendered to U.S.-backed rebels in 2019 and was imprisoned under harsh conditions.

Al-Madioum returned to the U.S. in 2020 and pleaded guilty in 2021 to providing material support to a designated terrorist organization. According to court filings, he has been cooperating with U.S. authorities and allied governments. The defense says he hopes to work in future counterterrorism and deradicalization efforts.

“The person who left was young, ignorant, and misguided,” Al-Madioum said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery, who will sentence him.

“I’ve been changed by life experience: by the treachery I endured as a member of ISIS, by becoming a father of four, a husband, an amputee, a prisoner of war, a malnourished supplicant, by seeing the pain and anguish and gnashing of teeth that terrorism causes, the humiliation, the tears, the shame,” he added. “I joined a death cult, and it was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Prosecutors acknowledge that Al-Madioum has provided useful assistance to U..S. authorities in several national security investigations and prosecutions, that he accepted responsibility for his crime and pleaded guilty promptly on his return to the U.S. But they say they factored his cooperation into their recommended sentence of 12 years instead of the statutory maximum of 20 years.

“The defendant did much more than harbor extremist beliefs,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “He chose violent action by taking up arms for ISIS.”

A naturalized U.S. citizen, Al-Madioum was among several Minnesotans suspected of leaving the U.S. to join the Islamic State group, along with thousands of fighters from other countries worldwide. Roughly three dozen people are known to have left Minnesota to join militant groups in Somalia or Syria. In 2016, nine Minnesota men were sentenced on federal charges of conspiring to join IS.

But Al-Madioum is one of the relatively few Americans who’ve been brought back to the U.S. who actually fought for the group. According to a defense sentencing memo, he’s one of 11 adults as of 2023 to be formally repatriated to the U.S. from the conflict in Syria and Iraq to face charges for terrorist-related crimes and alleged affiliations with IS. Others received sentences ranging from four years to life plus 70 years.

Al-Madioum grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in a loving and nonreligious family, the defense memo said. He joined IS because he wanted to help Muslims who he believed were being slaughtered by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in that country’s civil war. IS recruiters persuaded him “to test his faith and become a real Muslim.”

But he was a fighter for less than two months before he lost his right arm below the elbow in the explosion that also left him with two badly broken legs and other severe injuries. He may still require amputation of one leg, the defense says.

While recuperating in 2016, he met his first wife Fatima, an IS widow who already had a son and bore him another in 2017. They lived in poverty and under constant airstrikes. He was unable to work, and his stipend from IS stopped in 2018. They lived in a makeshift tent, the defense says.

He married his second wife, Fozia, in 2018. She also was an IS widow and already had a 4-year-old daughter. They had separated by early 2019. He heard later she and their daughter together had died. The first wife also is dead, having been shot in front of Al-Madioum by either rebel forces or an IS fighter in 2019, the defense says.

The day after that shooting, he walked with his sons and surrendered to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which held him under conditions the defense described as “heinous” for 18 months until the FBI returned him to the U.S.

As for Al-Madioum’s children, the defense memo said they were eventually found in a Syrian orphanage and his parents will be their foster parents when they arrive in the U.S.

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Minnesota

Former Minnesota Twins Prospect Speaks on Retiring from MLB

Published

4 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Former Minnesota Twins Prospect Speaks on Retiring from MLB

Does The NWSL Know What Soccer Fans Actually Want? | Full Time PodcastWelcome to Full Time, a show about women’s soccer.

In this episode, Meg and Tamerra dive into the world of NWSL fan supporter groups. As the NWSL is coveting new eyeballs and growth, an announcement that the league would be establishing a “league supporter’s group” as a sponsorship collaboration with an energy drink named Unwell, has sparked questions and concern among fan led groups – who have been on the ground building the league for over a decade now.

Full Time hosts Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan discuss tension in the relationship between the league and its supporters. With the help of voices from four different NWSL supporter’s groups from across the country, Tamerra and Meg unpack what values are most important to key community stakeholders and where the NWSL might well be falling short.

Thumbnail credit: Roy K. Miller/ISI Photos / Contributor / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images and Rodin Eckenroth / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Chapter descriptions:
00:00 Intro
00:13 What is a supporters group?
02:49 Guest introductions
05:06 What do supporters groups do?
08:02 Who are supporters groups for?
13:38 Growth & Tension
16:02 The need for a third space for fans
20:11 Is the NWSL doing enough to protect fans?
31:16 Outro

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#nwsl #uswnt #wsl

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Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter to get all the latest women’s soccer news straight to your inbox every Tuesday: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/full-time/

Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Catch the full episodes of Full Time right here 🎙️👇
➡️ https://apple.co/3RJUen2
➡️ https://spoti.fi/3W25Q77

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How to buy Minnesota Regional 2026 March Madness women’s tickets

Published

16 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

How to buy Minnesota Regional 2026 March Madness women’s tickets

The women’s NCAA Tournament bracket has been revealed, and Minnesota fans can enjoy watching their team’s March Madness run begin at home.

Minnesota will be hosting an NCAA Tournament regional, playing up to two games on its home court during the first weekend of March Madness.

Minnesota is back in the big dance after last qualifying in 2018.

Shop Minnesota Regional women’s basketball tickets

Minnesota played well enough during the regular season to earn a No. 4 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and a top four seed in the Sacramento 2 region, and will host during the opening weekend of the tournament.

Here is everything you need to know in order to buy Minnesota women’s March Madness tickets.

Minnesota women’s March Madness opponent

Minnesota earned a No. 4 seed in the Sacramento 2 Region. It will take on No. 13 Green Bay in its opening game.

Minnesota women’s March Madness regional teams

Minnesota, along with Green Bay, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 12 Gonzaga will play in Minneapolis for the first and second rounds of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Shop Minnesota Regional women’s basketball tickets

Minnesota women’s March Madness Regional basketball tickets

Limited Minnesota women’s regional NCAA Tournament tickets are still available. Get your Minnesota women’s March Madness tickets today as they start their NCAA Tournament on home court.

More March Madness: Everything fans need to know about the 2026 NCAA Tournament

Minnesota March Madness game schedule

Minnesota will take on Green Bay on Friday, March 20 . The game is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. ET. Shop Minnesota vs. Green Bay tickets now.

Shop Minnesota Regional women’s basketball tickets

Minnesota March Madness game locations

Minnesota will play its Round of 64 and potential Round of 32 games in Minneapolis .

Limited tickets for the first weekend of March Madness in the twin cities are available. Shop your Minnesota NCAA Tournament Tickets now.

Minnesota best NCAA Tournament result

Minnesota’s best result in the NCAA Tournament: Reached Final Four in 2004.

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Minnesota

Bill introduced to repeal Cesar Chavez Day in Minnesota amid sexual abuse allegations

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Bill introduced to repeal Cesar Chavez Day in Minnesota amid sexual abuse allegations

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota lawmakers have introduced a bill to repeal Cesar Chavez Day in the state after the civil rights leader was accused of sexual abuse.

Cesar Chavez Day could be repealed

What they’re saying:

Minnesota State Representative María Isa Pérez-Vega (DFL-St. Paul) introduced the bill to repeal Cesar Chavez Day in the state.

She says the bill comes after a New York Times investigation shed light on sexual abuse and “predatory behavior” by Chavez against women and girls, including his co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, Dolores Huerta.

In the New York Times investigation, two other women came forward saying Chavez sexually abused them when they were minors.

READ MORE: Dolores Huerta issues statement amid César Chávez scandal: ‘My silence ends here’

“The pain and trauma survivors carry is a weight that can’t be erased by replacing signs and names on buildings or repealing this state holiday, but it’s a step forward for healing,” said Rep. Pérez-Vega. “The harm has been done; the only way forward is believing survivors, providing resources for their healing, and staying committed to the fight for every victim silenced by sexual assault.”

“The New York Times report yesterday was horrifying and deeply troubling,” said House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson. “We believe women who come forward in these difficult situations, and this is yet another example of men in a position of power taking advantage of women. We have a responsibility to hear these stories and act. House DFLers are prepared to move quickly to pass this legislation, and I’m grateful to Representative Pérez-Vega for bringing this bill forward.”

The other side:

The Minnesota House GOP say they are “absolutely in support of renaming Cesar Chavez Day” and look forward to passing the bill as soon as possible.

Are you or someone you know a recent survivor of sexual assault? Help is available. Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) provides a 24/7 national sexual assault hotline, which can be reached at 1-800-656-4673

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