Abdi was arrested on November 28, 2003, and charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaeda, and two counts of fraud and misuse of documents. His attorneys became concerned with his mental state, and he was sent to a federal medical center in
Minnesota in June 2004 to undergo tests. He was returned to Columbus in August 2004 and held in the
Franklin County Correctional Facility II. On July 31, 2007, Abdi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to support terrorists. The other charges against him were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Abdi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and would be deported to Somalia upon completion of the sentence. New details released at the time of the plea agreement show that there were likely more than the aforementioned three people who were involved in the plot. Documents that were filed along with Abdi's agreement note a fourth person whom the trio met with both in Columbus and in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A 2011
NPR report claimed some of the people associated with this plot were imprisoned in a highly restrictive
communications management unit. In 2012, it was reported that Abdi was deported back to Somalia. ==References==