PORTLAND — An Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for plotting to bomb a crowded Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland’s town square four years ago.
Prosecutors had sought a 40-year term for Mohamed Mohamud, 23, in the plot that actually was an FBI sting.
Mohamud was arrested Nov. 26, 2010, after pressing a keypad button on a cellphone that he believed would trigger a massive truck bomb and kill people gathered for the annual event. But the bomb was a fake provided by undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaida recruiters.
The undercover agents made friends with Mohamud — a Somali American — after learning he had written for an online jihadi magazine and exchanged emails with accused terrorists.