Zimnako Salah, 46, of Phoenix, Arizona, was given a six-year jail sentence in the Eastern District of California today for his scheme to target Christian churches.
Salah was found guilty in March 2025 by a Sacramento jury of wrapping a rucksack around the restroom of a Christian church in Roseville with the intention of posing as a bomb threat and preventing the worshippers from exercising their right to free religion. The jury’s conviction included a particular finding that Salah committed a hate crime by targeting the church because of the faith of its members.
Based on the evidence presented at trial, Salah visited four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado between September and November of 2023 while carrying a black rucksack. Salah put such backpacks at two of those churches, frightening the worshippers that they were bombs. Before Salah could plant those backpacks at the other two churches, security confronted him.
Salah has been constructing a device that could fit in a bag while putting backpacks in Christian churches to make bomb threats. An FBI Bomb Expert testified during the trial that objects found by an FBI Bomb Technician during a search of his storage unit were pieces of an improvised explosive device (IED).
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FBI Evidence Confirms Intent to Create Explosive Devices
Salah had absorbed terrorist propaganda online, according to a scan of his social media accounts. In particular, those documents revealed that Salah had seen movies of ISIS militants killing people and had looked for videos of “Infidels dying.” Defendant Salah said, “America,” in a cellphone video recorded days before the crimes for which he was found guilty. We will destroy it.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, “Today’s sentence sends a clear message: those who attack people because of their faith will face the full force of federal law.” “We will hold those who threaten or harm people of faith accountable, and the Department of Justice will continue to protect their rights to worship and live fearlessly.”
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant stated, “Salah’s apparent ultimate goal to bomb a Christian church would have led to numerous fatalities and injuries if his plan had not been thwarted.” “This defendant stopped while he had a chance to carry out the acts that he sought to commit because of the actions of church security, local law enforcement, and the FBI.” The defendant’s background and traits support today’s punishment and also protect the public from the offender.
Additionally, it asserts that everyone should be free to practice their faith and exercise their First Amendment rights in our nation without fear of retaliation.
Law Enforcement Praises Joint Effort in Preventing Attack
FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel stated, “The FBI has no tolerance for those who target Americans based on their religious beliefs.” Salah aimed to terrorize and disturb Christian communities in Arizona, Colorado, and California.
We are appreciative of these communities’ and churches’ cooperation, which was essential to the inquiry that resulted in Salah’s apprehension and conviction. The punishment today demonstrates how law enforcement and watchful citizens worked together to stop this terrorist act.
The Roseville Police Department, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Harbor Police Department, and the Arapahoe County (CO) Sheriff’s Office all assisted the Federal Bureau of Investigation in their investigation of this crime.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Counsel Christopher Perras and Trial Attorney Sarah Howard, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea Kenny for the Eastern District of California, prosecuted this case.
