Ford County man convicted in Minnesota mosque bombing

A jury in Minneapolis, MN Wednesday convicted the leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group of several civil rights and hate crime charges. Michael Hari, a one-time sheriff deputy and farmer who lived in Clarence (IL) , was found guilty in the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque.

The Associated Press reported the 49-year-old Hari was convicted of 5-counts.They include damaging property because of its religious character, forcibly obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs, conspiracy to commit felonies with fire and explosives, using a destructive device in a crime of violence, and possessing an unregistered destructive device.

Prosecutors outlined Hari’s hatred for Muslims as his motivation for the bombing. During the trial, the jury heard anti-Islam excerpts from Hari’s manifesto called the White Rabbit Handbook, which was named after and his militia group. Hari and the militia group had also been accused of bombing a Champaign woman’s clinic.

94.1 WGFA