April 13 (UPI) -- Two Illinois men who pled guilty to bombing a Minnesota mosque in 2017 were sentenced to less than 20 years' imprisonment after the victims asked for leniency.
On Tuesday, Michael McWhorter, 33, received a sentence of nearly 16 years in prison and Joe Morris, 26, was sentenced to a little more than 14 years for their roles in the Aug. 5, 2017, firebombing of the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center, located within the Greater Twin Cities area.
Emily Claire Hari, 51, formally know as Michael Hari, was convicted to 53 years in prison in September on five counts of civil rights and hate crimes for being the mastermind behind the attack.
The two men, who testified against Hari, pled guilty in January 2019 to several federal civil rights and weapons charges and faced minimum 35-year sentences before the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center and members of the Muslim community asked the court for leniency.
In a letter addressed to Judge Donovan Frank, the Muslim leaders asked the court to "exercise compassion" and grant the pair a reduced sentence, stating the men have expressed "profound regret" while understanding how they were radicalized against the Muslim community.
"The harm that was done is real, the crime that was committed is real, the horror of what happened that day is real, but what's also real is our opportunity to offer real forgiveness and lead by example," the letter states. "While we may diverge on theological points, mercy, forgiveness and the opportunity for redemption is shared by every faith."
Prosecutors said McWhorter and Morris were recruited by Hari to join his White Rabbits terrorist militia.
On the night of Aug. 4 and into the morning of Aug. 5, the three drove in a rented pickup from Illinois to Bloomington, Minn., and when they were about an hour from the mosque, Hari told McWhorter and Morris that the plan was to bomb the Islamic center and that there was a 20-pound black powder pipe bomb in the truck.
At about 5 a.m., Morris smashed the window of the Imam's office at the center with a sledgehammer and threw a plastic container holding a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline inside. McWhorter then lit the fuse on the pipe bomb and threw it through the broken window while Hari waited for them behind the steering wheel of the truck.
The pipe bomb exploded as several worshipers were gathered in the mosque for morning prayers and caused extensive damage, though no one was injured.
"McWhorter and Morris carried out a violent plan to attack a house of worship as people peacefully prayed inside," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said in a statement. "In the United States, all people have a right to exercise their faith freely. The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute domestic terrorists who carry out acts of violence to suppress those rights or threaten and intimidate others based on their religious identity."
Imam Mohamed Omar was present at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center during the attack.
On Tuesday, he said the bombing was a horrifying act that stripped them of a sense of safety but they are celebrating their unity and their ability to live through their values.
"Today was the date that they were going to sentence and we as community stood by them and showed forgiveness and compassion and because of our faith, because of what brought us together in this building ... and that very value is the one that we live today," he said.
Imam Asad Zaman, executive director of the Muslin American Society of Minnesota, said choosing to forgive the two men represented "a profound act of healing for our community."
"We are able to despite our pain to see the humanity of our fellow human beings and to understand their mitigating circumstances, which is why we asked the judge for leniency," he said. "We are grateful that has not fallen on deaf ears."
