A federal judge sentenced a Phoenix man to six years in prison for a multistate plot to target Christian churches, after a jury found that he put hoax bomb devices and attempted to obstruct religious worship. The Justice Department announced that Zimnako Salah, 46, was convicted earlier this year of strapping a backpack to a toilet inside a Roseville church in 2023, resulting in a bomb scare and a hate-crime enhancement after jurors concluded he targeted congregants because of their faith.
Salah, according to prosecutors, visited churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado over the course of three months, each time carrying black backpacks. Security stopped him in two churches after he successfully planted hoax devices. During the inquiry, FBI officers discovered components for an improvised explosive device in Salah’s storage unit, and an agency bomb expert testified that the items could be used to create a working backpack-sized bomb.
Salah, according to court records, read extremist propaganda online, looked up recordings of “infidels dying,” and watched ISIS execution films. In a cellphone video recorded days before the Roseville incident, he vowed, “America—we’re going to destroy it.” In additional videos, he denounced the American flag and expressed his displeasure with US military actions in Iraq.
According to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, the sentence reflects both the gravity of the offense and the significance of defending religious freedom, emphasizing that church security and law enforcement most likely prevented casualties.