A Minnesota man who survived the harrowing Minneapolis bridge collapse as a schoolboy now faces terror charges for helping ISIS, traveling to Syria just weeks after he collected a hefty $91,000 settlement for the traumatic 2007 disaster.
Mohamed Amiin Ali Roble, 20, was charged Wednesday with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Federal officials believe Roble, who is allegedly still in Syria, spent thousands of dollars on aid for ISIS.
Just weeks before his 11th birthday in 2007, Roble was in a devastating bridge collapse that killed 13 people. He was riding in a school bus traveling on I-35W when it plummeted about 30 feet into the Mississippi River.
Roble was among 145 people injured in the rush hour catastrophe.
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Court documents filed Wednesday show Roble received three court settlements when he turned 18 that totaled $91,654. That money included a $65,431 payment from the state’s settlement fund.
Just weeks after his August 2014 payout, Roble flew to China for a nine-month study program, officials said. He took two trips to Istanbul during his time aboard: A day-long excursion in November, and a second visit in December.
He never returned to China after that second trip, officials said.
In Turkey, Roble periodically crossed into Syria, where he allegedly worked with the Islamic State, officials said.
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Roble was among 145 people injured in the 2007 rush hour collapse of I-35 in Minneapolis. (M. Spencer Green/AP)
“We received information that Mr. Roble ended up in Syria with his uncle, Abdi Nur,” FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Officer Joel Pajak testified.
He would return to Turkey to withdraw cash to help the terrorists, officials said. Over the course of trhee months, he made about 45 withdrawals totaling $47,000.
“This large sum is consistent with previously mentioned CHS reports that Roble was financially supporting himself and other members of ISIL, including by purchasing vehicles to be used by members of ISIL,” the affidavit said. The “CHS” was a confidential informant working for the government.
Nur is among 10 men charged in the case and is believed to have joined the Islamic State group. Nine others have been convicted on terror charges in Minnesota.
Prosecutors say the men were part of a group of friends in Minnesota’s Somali community who recruited and inspired each other to join the Islamic State group. The FBI has said that roughly a dozen young men have left Minnesota to join militant groups in Syria in recent years.
With News Wire Services
