The ODU terrorist who killed an ROTC instructor had a previous ISIS conviction
Mohammed Jalloh is a naturalized US citizen originally from Sierra Leone. I entered the classroom on Thursday Authorities said the gunmen were at the Norfolk school and opened fire after determining it was an ROTC class, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office said ROTC cadets physically subdued Jalloh and ended the attack, adding that their actions “rendered him no longer alive.”
“The horrific tragedy that occurred today on the ODU campus should never have happened,” said Rep. Jennifer Keegans, R-Va.
Court records show that Jalloh was arrested in 2016 for providing material support to ISIS.
Authorities have identified Muhammad Baylor Jalloh as the shooter at Old Dominion University on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP photo)
Federal prosecutors sought a 20-year prison sentence, but U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady sentenced him to 132 months, nearly 11 years.
According to prosecutors, a deceased ISIS member abroad arranged contact between Jalloh and someone he believed to be a fellow supporter but who was actually a confidential human source for the FBI. Investigators said Jalloh also traveled to Nigeria as part of the plot.
Jalloh said the foreign terrorist wanted to carry out an attack Federal Bureau of Investigation Source: He decided not to renew his enlistment with the Virginia Army National Guard after listening to lectures from al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico native against whom President Barack Obama ordered a deadly drone strike in 2011.
“The defendant was fully aware of what he was doing and the consequences of those actions. His only fear appears to have been a fear that he would hesitate at the critical moment,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum obtained by The Associated Press.
FBI foils alleged ISIS-inspired New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a North Carolina grocery store
O’Grady later handed down an 11-year prison sentence that included mental health treatment and drug testing, according to the news outlet, and Jalloh was released in 2024.
Jalloh’s release also requires that he not contact any terrorist organization and monitor computers during his probation.
“Jalloh was sentenced in 2017 to 132 months in prison for providing material support to ISIS,” former federal prosecutor William Shipley wrote on X. “(The government) had requested a sentence of 240 months, which is the legal maximum.”
“The judge who imposed the reduced sentence was Senior Judge Liam O’Grady, in the Eastern District of Virginia, appointed from GWB. Judge O’Grady announced that he was granted senior status in June 2020 – in the heart of the onset of Covid, meaning there was no chance that President Trump would be able to confirm his replacement.
“Joe Biden “He ended up nominating his replacement – Judge Patricia Giles.”
He said Giles controversially ruled in 2024 that Virginia illegally purged noncitizen voter rolls too close to that year’s election and ordered them restored.
Asked whether the recent spate of attacks shows a resurgence of ISIS threats to the homeland or if previously lax immigration policies played a role, a spokesman for National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent pointed to recent comments he made after the mission began in Iran:
“As the Iranian conflict continues, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s National Counterterrorism Center is fully operational 24/7,” Kent said. “We track developments in real time, assess any potential risks to the homeland, identify emerging threats and provide timely, actionable intelligence to the White House, law enforcement agencies, and interagency partners to detect and prevent attacks against the American people.”
The campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia features academic buildings and landscaped grounds as a public research university serving southeastern Virginia and beyond. (John Grimm/LightRocket)
Click here to download the FOX NEWS app
Kent said counterterrorism officials are “fully aware” and focused on eliminating “ongoing” threats posed by thousands of people with ties to terrorism who have “flown into our country unchecked during four years of open borders under Biden.”
“Constant vigilance is a must. Be aware of your surroundings, and if you see something suspicious, report it immediately Local law enforcement. “Every one of us has a role to play in keeping this nation safe,” Kent said.
A Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that there are “no known or credible threats to the homeland” at this time and that federal agents “maintain a constant state of vigilance to keep Americans safe.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to ODNI, the FBI and O’Grady for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Post Comment