New details are emerging about a homeless man with previous ties to al-Qaida who is charged with allegedly threatening to bomb public transit in Montreal.
Mohamed Abdullah Warsame faces new charges filed this week for allegedly threatening to blow up the Passport Canada offices in Montreal and Quebec City in November while he was in jail.
Warsame, a 52-year-old Somali-born Canadian citizen, pleaded guilty in the U.S. in 2009 to one count of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al-Qaida.
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He was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison with credit for time served and was deported to Canada in October 2010.
At the Montreal courthouse today, Warsame’s lawyer said his client had been mostly homeless in recent years, travelling to various cities across the country.
Leonard Waxman told reporters after the brief hearing in Quebec court that his client has had numerous mental health struggles and was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Warsame was arrested in June by the RCMP and charged with uttering threats for allegedly telling a staff member at a Montreal homeless shelter that he was going to detonate bombs in the city’s public transit system.
A month later, the federal Crown invoked a little-used Criminal Code provision on terrorism that would lead to Warsame facing life in prison if convicted on the uttering threats charge.
Waxman says Warsame has no current links to terror groups, with the case returning to court March 9.
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