Fake Somali Passport

The young American claimed to be in Yemen to study religion, but he was linked to a school there that was well-known for its terrorist ties. He had a fake Somali passport, though he was carrying a perfectly valid American one.

Agents were concerned the Somali passport was a way for Muhammed to travel to places he didn’t want U.S. authorities to know about -– so when he returned to the U.S. his American passport wouldn’t have stamps and visas from countries that bring suspicion.

Muhammed’s lawyer in Little Rock, Ark., Jim Hensley, says the second passport wasn’t so sinister.

“That Somali passport came into being because, I think he said, they are laying on park benches around Yemen,” Hensley told NPR. “Somali passports were easy to get, and the whole reason he needed one was because he had overstayed his visa, he was married, and did not want to leave.”

Hensley said Muhammed wanted to stay in Yemen with his new wife.

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