GOP Senate hopeful sounds alarm after alleged Mall of America terror plot thwarted

Republican Senate nominee Michele Tafoya says people in her home state of Minnesota "feel under a level of threat" after the FBI arrested an 18-year-old who allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and discussed carrying out a mass shooting at the Mall of America.

Tafoya, who is aiming to flip a Democrat-controlled open Senate seat as she faces off against Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the midterm elections, praised authorities in an X post, writing, "Thank you to @FBIMinneapolis and law enforcement for stopping a potential mass-casualty attack."

But she also pointed to the midterms as she argued, "This November, the choice is clear: law and order or more of the same. Common sense or chaos."

Authorities said Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud had been under investigation for nearly two years before he was arrested on the spot after buying an AK-47-style rifle, magazines and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.

FBI: MALL OF AMERICA TERROR PLOT THWARTED

"This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched," U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said Wednesday at a news conference. Rosen added that agents "were able to detect a threat and disrupt it before the defendant carried out his intention to kill, in his words, maybe 30 to 60 people."

Mohamud, according to an FBI agent's sworn complaint, repeatedly affirmed in chat messages to the informant that he intended to attack and kill non-Muslims at the mall on Oct. 24, the date of a scheduled Hmong arts celebration. The Hmong are an ethnic group from East and Southeast Asia with a large community in Minnesota."

Tafoya, in a Fox News Digital interview, said, "I hear a lot of concerns from Minnesotans on the campaign trail about crime, and no matter what form that crime takes, Minnesotans know that they feel under a level of threat that has increased lately here in Minnesota.

"And in the last week and just today, we saw the arrest of an 18-year-old ... American citizen to Somali parents arrested for ... planning a terrorist attack at the Mall of America," Tafoya said, as she referred not only to the thwarting of the terror plot, but also a recent spate of gang gun violence tied to what some in local law enforcement say are members of "the Somali American community."

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"He basically stated that he wanted to take out anyone who was not a Muslim. He also noted that the Mall of America is owned by people who are Jewish," Tafoya added. "Again, he is of Somalian descent, and terror is alive and well. And thank God we averted this massive crisis."

Flanagan, in a statement on X, wrote, "I’m relieved that a horrific attack on Minnesota was prevented and grateful for the actions of law enforcement."

Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was arrested after FBI officials say he pledged allegiance to ISIS and discussed carrying out a mass shooting at the Mall of America.  (U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota)

Fox News Digital reached out to Flanagan's campaign for more reaction to the terror plot arrest and to Tafoya's comments but didn't receive a response at the time this article was published.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, wrote in a statement, "I'm grateful for the heroic work of law enforcement that prevented a mass shooting and terrorist attack at the Mall of America. This shows why we continue to need major coordinated investments in anti-terrorism and local law enforcement to stop attacks like these."

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Klobuchar, who is running to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, emphasized, "Our state must take terrorism and violent crime head on, working with our federal law enforcement and local police departments to keep Minnesotans safe."

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. (Bloomberg/Getty)

Her Republican rival in the gubernatorial showdown, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, also praised authorities.

"I’m grateful for the work of federal and local law enforcement that stopped this potentially catastrophic ISIS-inspired terrorist plot. It’s frightening to know that a young person could be led down this path," Demuth wrote on X. 

"It’s fortunate that we have law enforcement officials and members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office that were able to do the work necessary to prevent a terrible act of mass violence from taking place in our community."

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News