3 Illinois men indicted on civil rights & hate crime charges for bombing Islamic Center

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Suspects set off a bomb at the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

A FIVE-COUNT federal indictment, including federal civil rights and hate crime violations, were filed against three men in connection with an explosion at the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center (DAF) in Bloomington, Minnesota, on Aug. 5, 2017.

The three defendants, Michael Hari, 47, Michael McWhorter, 29, and Joe Morris, 22, are currently being held in custody in Urbana, Illinois,  were previously named in a criminal complaint filed on March 13, 2018, in the District of Minnesota, charging them with arson in attacking the Women's Health Practice.

Court documents say McWhorter said that the defendants did not intend to kill anyone, but they wanted to “scare (Muslims) out of the country” and to “show them hey, you’re not welcome here…” 

The indictments filed Thursday (June 21) allege the three were part of a militia group called the White Rabbits.

“All people – regardless of where they worship – have the right under federal law to live free from the threat of violence and discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore.  “This Justice Department will hold accountable under the law anyone who attempts to commit violent acts of hate by threat or action.”

“These three defendants allegedly plotted and executed a plan designed specifically to spread fear and threaten a fundamental right afforded to all, the freedom of religion,” said U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald. “In spite of the destructive and violent act alleged in the indictment, our communities have found strength in taking a unified stand against the attack.”

“Last year's bombing was more than just an attack against a single structure, it was an attack on the very religious freedoms we enjoy as Americans,” said Jill Sanborn, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Minneapolis Division. “The ability to worship how and where we want is a cornerstone of our country's foundation."

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that Hari constructed a pipe bomb and rented a pickup truck in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Hari, McWhorter, and Morris drove from Illinois to Bloomington, Minnesota, in the pickup truck, stopping along the way to purchase diesel fuel and gasoline. The defendants mixed these ingredients together in a plastic container.

The indictment alleges that, in the early morning of Aug. 5, 2017, Morris broke a window at DAF and threw the plastic container containing the diesel fuel and gasoline mixture into the building. It is alleged that McWhorter then lit the fuse and threw the pipe bomb in the broken window at DAF. According to the court documents, the window that was broken was part of the Imam’s office. When the pipe bomb exploded, it ignited the mixture in the plastic container, causing extensive damage in the Imam’s office. McWhorter and Morris returned to the pickup truck, where Hari was waiting, and sped off, driving back to Illinois.

As described in the complaint previously filed with the Court, a tip from a confidential source helped to lead investigators to the defendants.

At a press conference after the trio were arrested in March, he said, Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim advocacy and civil liberties group Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We recognize the early motivations are exactly what the anti-Muslim organizing has pushed — to push Muslims out, to drive fear in our communities. But today we want to reaffirm that our community is going to be resilient."