MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on the arrests of three men from central Illinois suspected in bombing of Minnesota mosque last summer (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
Three men from rural central Illinois have been charged with arson in the bombing of a suburban Minneapolis mosque last year.
Federal authorities say the men were arrested Tuesday in Illinois on separate gun charges and that they were suspects in the mosque bombing. But federal authorities in Minnesota charged them with additional counts of arson for their alleged roles in the Aug. 5 explosion at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Prosecutors say the men threw a pipe bomb through the window of the mosque, causing extensive damage. No one was injured in the blast.
Federal authorities in Minnesota say the investigation is ongoing, but they believe there is no further threat to the community.
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5:30 p.m.
A Minnesota Muslim leader is welcoming the arrests of three men from central Illinois suspected in the bombing of a suburban Minneapolis mosque last summer.
Executive director Jaylani Hussein of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the arrests are “definitely a relief.”
Hussein tells The Associated Press that Muslims are glad that the suspects are “no longer a threat to our community.”
Federal authorities announced on Tuesday the three have been arrested on gun charges and that they are suspects in the bombing of the Minnesota mosque and an attempted bombing of an Illinois abortion clinic.
The Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington was bombed early on Aug. 5. No one was hurt in the explosion.
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4:30 p.m.
Authorities say they have arrested three me from rural central Illinois on gun charges who they believe are suspects in the bombing of a Minnesota mosque and an attempted bombing of an Illinois abortion clinic.
A Tuesday statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield announced the arrests on charges of possession of a machine gun. The statement adds that the three men are suspects in the Aug. 5 explosion at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the Women’s Health Practice in Champaign on Nov. 7.
It identifies them as Michael B. Hari, 47; Joe Morris, 22; Michael McWhorter, 29. All are from Clarence, a rural community 35 miles north of Champaign-Urbana.
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