Minnesota Senate candidate links rising crime to Somali gangs and thwarted terror plot

During a campaign interview, Republican Senate nominee Michele Tafoya warned that Minnesotans feel a growing sense of danger, pointing to a spate of Somali gang-related shootings in the Minneapolis suburbs, including a homecoming gunfight in Eden Prairie and a massive gunfire incident at a Bloomington gas station. She also referenced the recent arrest of 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, a U.S.-born son of Somali immigrants, who allegedly purchased an AK-style rifle from an undercover FBI operative and plotted a terrorist attack on the Mall of America during a Hmong cultural event.

Court filings say Mohamud exchanged messages with a confidant he thought was an al-Shabaab member, expressing a desire to kill “kuffar” on October 24. Tafoya linked these events to broader concerns about Somali-linked fraud schemes in the state and called for harsher penalties for any criminal, regardless of immigration status. She emphasized that crime must be addressed uniformly and pledged to hold both gang members and corrupt officials accountable. The candidate framed the issues as a central theme of her campaign against incumbent Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.