SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge has sentenced a Phoenix man to six years in prison for a multistate plot targeting Christian churches, following a jury’s finding that he planted hoax bomb devices and attempted to obstruct religious worship. The Justice Department announced that 46-year-old Zimnako Salah was convicted earlier this year for strapping a backpack to a toilet inside a Roseville church in 2023, triggering a bomb scare and prompting a hate-crime enhancement after jurors concluded he targeted congregants because of their faith.
Prosecutors said Salah traveled to churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado over a three-month period, each time carrying black backpacks. He successfully planted hoax devices at two churches and was stopped by security at two others. During the investigation, FBI agents found components of an improvised explosive device in Salah’s storage unit, and an agency bomb expert testified the items could be used to assemble a functioning backpack-sized bomb.
According to court records, Salah consumed extremist propaganda online, searched for videos of “infidels dying,” and watched ISIS execution videos. In a cellphone video recorded days before the Roseville incident, he declared, “America — we’re going to destroy it.” Additional videos showed him denouncing the American flag and expressing anger over U.S. military operations in Iraq.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said the sentence reflects both the severity of the conduct and the importance of protecting the free exercise of religion, noting church security and law enforcement likely prevented casualties.
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