Mohamed Adan Mohamed, known to his friends as Mo, is a 24 year old Black man, an autistic animal rights activist, and beloved community member from Southern Minnesota. He is the elder of two sons to Somali immigrants.

Mo has been open and adamant about his beliefs online. Mo is vehemently Pro-Palestine, anti-Israeli and American Imperialism and strongly opposes the genocide being carried out by these nations against the indigenous people of Palestine. Mo is passionate about animal rights and maintains a vegan diet as part of these principles. He engages in animal rights activism online and in his communities. Underlying these beliefs are his overall anti-oppression principles. Part of these principles includes exercising his right to bear arms under the second amendment. He is a principled legal gun owner.

On April 10, local police responded to reports online about some of the things that Mo was posting on his Instagram page, namely photos of his firearms. They checked in at his house and found no reasons to take action.

Rightfully put off by this encounter with law enforcement, Mo continued posting about his beliefs and his assertion that he would not let ICE kidnap himself or anybody he cared about, again asserting his rights to bear arms for self defense.

On April 17, cops arrested Mo at a local record store without a warrant and without reading him his Miranda rights. He has been charged with Felony Theft and Felony Terroristic Threats but has yet to be put on trial. Mo was deemed “suspicious” by store owners for his appearance, including wearing a mask for covid safety. They also deemed him “suspicious” for asking questions about firearm accessories, which he has every right to do as a gun owner, and for picking up items without looking at the prices. We do not believe Mo would be under such scrutiny were he not a Black man. Mo was confronted at the store and surrendered everything he was shopping for. Whether or not his intentions were to steal, nothing left the store. The police report accusing Mo of terrorism does not cite *why* he was accused of terrorism beyond citing posts of his firearms, including one where he was pointing a gun at the camera, and the hashtag “deathtoamerikkkan&israhelliimperialism”. Mo threatened ICE and imperialism, he did not threaten people. Anybody who knows Mo knows that he is a gentle soul who would never intentionally hurt anybody except in self defense.

Since his arrest, Mo has been the subject of widespread defamation, started by the Mankato Free Press. Media outlets have sensationalized his story, ignoring the important contextual factors of race, immigration status, and ability. They call him a “plotting shooter” who was planning a “mass casualty attack” with no evidence and no conviction. They also doxxed Mo and his family by publishing their street of residence. Their reporting caused a tidal wave of anti-Black racism and xenophobia on social media. The day after the second article about him was published, Mo was assaulted in jail. He received multiple death threats towards himself and his family by other inmates, some of whom are white supremacists.

The state has never taken kindly to it when those of marginalized identities are armed and informed. We know that if Mo was a white man, he would already be free. The state has nothing to stand on, so they are using speculation and conjecture to make Mo out to be more of a threat than he is. They are using a high bail amount (at least $50k) and a lengthy court process to keep Mo imprisoned.

Mo does not did not deserve to be kidnapped by the state, have his character slandered, and have himself and his family doxxed and threatened. This fund will go towards Mo’s bail fund, legal fines (at least $10k per charge), phone credits, and buying him materials for writing letters and medicine while he remains imprisoned. Per Mo’s request, any funds that are not used for Mo’s case will go towards evacuation funds for Palestinian people.