An Arizona man has been convicted of crimes related to his plot to target Christian churches in several states, including Colorado.
After an 11-day trial, a federal jury found Zimnako Salah, 45, of Phoenix, Arizona, guilty of the allegations brought against him. He was accused of strapping a backpack around a toilet in a Christian church in Roseville, California, “with the intent to convey a hoax bomb threat and to obstruct the free exercise of religion of the congregants who worshipped there,” according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice on Friday.
Salah was charged with a hate crime because he targeted the church based on the religion of those who prayed there.
Evidence presented at the prosecution stated that Salah visited four churches with black bags between September and November 2023. He planted the backpacks at two of them, raising concerns that they contained bombs, and was approached by security at the other two churches. The four churches are located in Arizona, California, and Colorado.
According to a criminal complaint, Salah rented a storage unit about 15 minutes away from the Colorado church, stayed there overnight, and “stored component parts for a destructive device or a hoax device, such as a propane canister with wires taped to it, and strips of duct tape lined with nails.” The complaint also states that an antisemitic statement was scribbled in Kurdish on the wall of the storage facility. According to the lawsuit, the church is located in Greenwood Village but has not been recognized.
“While Salah had been making bomb threats by planting backpacks in Christian churches, he had been building a bomb capable of fitting in a backpack,” the DOJ’s press release reads. “During a search of his storage unit, an FBI Bomb Technician seized items that an FBI Bomb Expert testified at trial served as component parts of an improvised explosive device (IED).”
According to the DOJ, Salah’s social media demonstrated that he ingested extremist propaganda online, including searching for films of “infidels dying” and watching videos of ISIS militants committing murder.
Salah faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is planned for July 18.
This case was investigated by the FBI and a number of other agencies, including the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado.
“This Department of Justice has no tolerance for anyone who targets religious Americans for their faith,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The perpetrator of this abhorrent hate crime against Christians will face severe punishment.”
