An Arizona man, Zimnako Salah, age 46, from Phoenix, has been sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted for plotting against Christian churches, adding a hate crime to his charges for targeting a religious group. Salah was found guilty of making hoax bomb threats that placed church congregants in fear and obstructed their right to freely practice their religion—this after a search of his social media and physical evidence linked him to plans for potential acts of terror, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In March 2025, Salah faced the repercussions of his intended threats, as a Sacramento jury found him guilty of the attempted hoax following a revealing trial where it emerged that Salah had made multiple trips across Arizona, California, and Colorado between September and November 2023, where he tried planting backpacks in Christian churches in a fraudulent effort to simulate bomb threats, engaging in activities that clearly reflected a deep-seated prejudice against the religious community, two churches he was stopped by security before he could place the backpacks, his actions spurred by extremist propaganda—including content glorifying ISIS terrorism and showcasing disdain for 'infidels.' This chilling narrative of Salah's intent materialized into concrete judgement as Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon communicated yesterday, as reported by the Justice Department, that “Today's sentencing sends a clear message: those who target people because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.”
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant highlighted the severity of Salah's intended crimes, noting the potential for "many deaths and injuries" had Salah's plans come to fruition, praising the collaborative efforts of church security, local law enforcement, and the FBI in preventing the commission of these potential atrocities, as revealed in the Justice Department's documentation. During the search of Salah’s storage unit, law enforcement seized what an FBI Bomb Expert testified were components of an improvised explosive device (IED), painting a grave picture of what could have been had they not intervened.
"The FBI has zero tolerance for those who target Americans based on their religious beliefs," FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel stated, shedding light on the collaborative efforts between communities, the churches involved, and law enforcement agencies which were crucial in the investigation and ultimate conviction of Salah, the church's and communities cooperation critical as implied in the official statement from the Justice Department. The federal investigation was supported by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Roseville Police Department, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Harbor Police Department, and the Arapahoe County (CO) Sheriff’s Office, delineating a multi-state effort to uphold the sanctity of religious freedom and the safety of its practitioners.
