US man gets 1 year for threatening to blow up Islamic Center

Rasa - A man has been sentenced to one year in prison for threatening to blow up the prayer room of a mosque in Minnesota.

News ID: 428040

Date: 10 March 2017 - 23:18

RNA - 57-year-old George Fisher, who had previously sent a threat letter to the Tawfiq Islamic Center in Minneapolis, was sentenced to jail time by a U.S. District Court Wednesday.

A written statement released by the U.S. Justice Department, said that Fisher pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of obstructing people from freely exercising religious beliefs.

In his threatening letter to the Tawfiq Islamic Center community last September, Fisher wrote that he would blow up the mosque "with all you immigrants in it."

Fisher admitted he wrote the letter in question to intimidate Muslims, as he had been increasingly angry with Muslims since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the statement added.

"This sentence sends a message that anyone who threatens others with violence because of religious intolerance will face significant consequences," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler.

The United States and Canada have witnessed a spike in Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, and mosques and Islamic centers have become the targets of vandalism and threats of violence.

The FBI reported that hate crimes against Muslims in the US rose by 67 percent in 2015, reaching the highest level since the aftermath of September 11.

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