A Somali immigrant with a lengthy history of arrests, prison terms and hospitalizations for mental illness has been sentenced to three years in prison by a Pennsylvania judge, for telling police he wanted to kill President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
According to the Washington Times, Mohamed Farah, 34, came to the U.S. as a refugee in his teens and then amassed a lengthy history of criminal entanglements, mental health hospital stays and drug use. Farah was awaiting deportation when the coronavirus pandemic hit and managed to get released from Homeland Security’s custody.
In 2022, police investigated after Farah threatened the two presidents during a mental health episode, saying in the case of Mr. Biden, he would “kill him literally dead” and for Mr. Trump that “I’m going to be at his campaign and dedicate my life to assassinating Trump.”
Mohamed Farah, 34, came to the U.S. as a refugee, then amassed a lengthy history of criminal entanglements, mental health hospital stays and drug use and was awaiting deportation when the coronavirus pandemic hit. https://t.co/dFlgkGymPj
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) March 16, 2024
Prosecutors said they aren’t sure Farah meant the threats and could have been a mental “cry for help.” However, they argued that with his past, which includes prison sentences for armed robbery and aggravated assault, and threats to kill his family and children, a prison sentence was warranted.
A psychologist hired by the defense team said Farah has been hospitalized at least 20 times in the two decades since then.
Farah’s lawyer, Jonathan White, said he wants to do better in the future and learned a lot from this incident.
“He recognizes that he is sick and that he needs to be on the right medication plan and, more importantly, the right plan for when he runs out of medication,” White said.
According to the Daily Voice news website, the threats were investigated by the Secret Service, FBI and the Lower Allen Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli prosecuted the case.
The maximum penalty for each offense was five years in prison, a term of supervised release and a fine, according to the USDOJ press release issued when Fatah was indicted in 2022.
Death threats are becoming almost common in the United States, especially against U.S. Presidents and presidential candidates. In Oct. 2023, FBI agents shot and killed a Utah man while attempting to arrest him for allegedly making threats against President Biden ahead of the president’s trip to the state.
