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November 30, 2010

Somali-Born Man Pleads Not Guilty to Bomb Plot
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In Oregon, the Somali-American man accused of trying to detonate a bomb
at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland has pleaded
not guilty. Nineteen-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested Friday
after an FBI sting operation. Lawyers for Mohamud suggested in court
that the government may have manufactured a crime. Undercover FBI agents
orchestrated much of the bomb plot—supplying Mohamud with money,
providing materials to construct the fake bomb and blocking Mohamud from
leaving the Portland area to take a job in Alaska. Attorney Stephen Sady
accused FBI agents of “basically grooming the individual” to commit a
crime. In Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder denied tat the
Mohamud was a victim of entrapment.



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