The U.S. Department of Justice charged Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, of Richfield, Minn., on Oct. 7 with one count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition in order to commit a federal crime of terrorism. Mohamud allegedly planned to carry out a mass-casualty attack in support of ISIS, inspired in part by the Pulse nightclub massacre that took place on June 12, 2016 when then-29-year-old Omar Mateen murdered 49 people and wounded 58 – one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, and the deadliest targeting the LGBTQ+ community. 

According to a DOJ statement release, Mohamud was arrested on Oct. 6 by the FBI, which had arranged to sell him an AK-47 assault rifle, magazines, and ammunition through an undercover FBI employee. Mohamud was arrested shortly after paying $600 in cash and taking possession of those items; he reaffirmed his intention to shoot people at the Mall of America during the transaction.

“Mohamud allegedly sought to carry out a mass-casualty shooting at the Mall of America, expressing a desire to emulate some of the most horrific ISIS-inspired attacks in the United States, including the atrocities at Pulse Nightclub and 2025 New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg in the statement by the DOJ. “The National Security Division will continue to work closely with the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force to track down and prosecute ISIS-inspired terrorists in the United States.”

According to the complaint, beginning on or about December 2024, Mohamud had exchanged hundreds of messages through multiple social media and messaging apps with a confidential source, and expressed a desire to travel to Somalia to join a designated foreign terrorist organization to fight on their behalf.

The defendant stated many times that if he was unable to travel overseas because of a lack of funds, he planned to carry out a mass-casualty event in Minnesota in support of ISIS. 

According to the DOJ, “In July 2026, Mohamud sent messages discussing his intent to carry out a mass-casualty shooting attack at the Mall of America because he claimed it was owned by Jews. He wrote that [he] wanted to kill 30 to 60 people so no one would go there.”

“During the course of his communications, Mohamud stated that he wanted to commit an attack similar to those of the Pulse Nightclub mass-shooting in Orlando, the Bondi Beach mass-shooting in Australia, and the New Year’s Day vehicle-ramming attack in New Orleans.”

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan White of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar for the District of Minnesota.

James “Jim” Bedore, an international affairs specialist whose career included work for the U.S. Department of State and as a private sector consultant in Europe with a focus on Middle Eastern and African development before his retirement in 2000, died on Sept. 2 at his home in D.C. He was 82.

His sister, Carol Bedore, said the cause of death was lung cancer. 

Dignity Washington, the D.C.-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, released a detailed statement on Bedore’s life and career that, among other things, says Dignity Washington “became a huge part of Jim’s social life after his retirement in 2000.”

Carol Bedore said her brother was born and raised in Unionville, Mich., as the sixth of eight kids and the oldest boy in their family. She said he graduated from high school there before going on to “amazing” things in a distinguished career.

The Dignity Washington statement says upon the completion of his “B.A. in History and Economics,” Bedore served in the U.S. Peace Corps in West Africa in the mid-1960s. The statement says after completing his Peace Corps service Bedore taught briefly at Voorhees College, a historically Black college in South Carolina. He next earned a master’s degree from the East-West Center in Honolulu before undertaking advanced graduate work at the London School of Economics, according to the statement.

“During the Vietnam War, he served a two-year assignment in the Mekong Delta with the U.S. Department of State,” the statement continues. “He later worked in the private sector in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and London, residing in London for fifteen years,” it says, adding, “He served as a Research Fellow at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London) and co-authored a volume on Middle East Industrialization, (Macmillan in 1979).”

The statement says other articles and commentaries that Bedore wrote appeared in several prominent publications, including the journals Foreign Affairs, International Affairs, the Financial Times of London, and the International Herald Tribune. It says he remained active in international affairs after his retirement in 2000, including involvements with ‘think tank” organizations in D.C.

The Dignity Washington statement says Bedore, who lived for many years until the time of his passing in a condominium in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood, was a dedicated volunteer and organizer of Dignity related events.

“He did what he could to organize practical and social events, including some 14 years cooking and feeding approximately 100 homeless individuals monthly at Christ House,” the statement says, referring to the D.C. Adams Morgan neighborhood organization that provides medical care and other services for homeless people.

“Additionally, he initiated the ‘Moon Over Washington’ pot-luck event on the incredible roof on his condominium building,” it says. “The event continues to be one of Dignity Washington’s signature events to this day.” Among other things, it says Bedore was part of Dignity Washington’s annual LGBTQ Pride parade contingent, and he helped to sew 60 AIDS Memorial Quilts. 

The statement says Bedore also “built a good relationship with St. Matthews’s Cathedral and created a gay chapter there, where he collaborated with parents with gay children.”

Dignity Washington President Peter Edwards called Bedore a beloved, dedicated Dignity Washington member. Edwards said the group recently issued its Willick Award to Bedore, which he said, “is a special award that we give to people who have done wonderful things for our community.”

“We will remember Jim for his sharp mind, his humor, his generosity, and his unwavering belief in the power of human connection,” the statement adds. “He lived a life shaped by service, curiosity, and love – and he leaves behind a community forever enriched by his presence,” it concludes. 

Edwards said Dignity Washington will hold a Catholic Mass in Bedore’s honor in the coming weeks.

The statement says Bedore was pre-deceased by two life partners, Geoffrey Lawrence of 19 years, and Al Lunde, who the statement says passed away in 1999. 

Bedore’s sister, Carol, said Bedore was cremated and his ashes have been returned to the family’s hometown in Michigan where an interment is being planned at the family’s cemetery plot.

Virginia advocacy groups have launched a campaign that urges the Virginia High School League to once again allow student athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

Equality Arlington on Sept. 16 published an article about the “Right 2 Play VA” campaign. Amy, a group representative, spoke about the initiative with the Washington Blade.

“The primary goal is to reverse the Virginia High School League’s discriminatory ban on allowing transgender girls to play on girls’ sports and replace it with a policy that is fair for all students.” they said.

The Virginia High School League in 2025 announced the policy, which reversed a previous position in support of transgender and nonbinary athletes. The 2025 policy coincided with President Donald Trump’s executive order — “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” — that threatened to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls.”

The Arlington Gender Identity Alliance, Equality Virginia, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia have also joined the “Right 2 Play VA” campaign.

“We had a policy in Virginia for 12 years that allowed transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams, and we had not one instance — not one instance — that was brought forward demonstrating an unfair advantage or any type of safety concern,” said Amy. 

Amy then discussed what they described are the benefits of trans youth playing sports.

“There are physical benefits. There are mental health benefits. There are community and social development benefits, and those are all well documented,” they said. “All kids should have the right to benefit from playing youth sports. We are talking about kids. We are talking about youth. We are not talking about Olympians. We are not talking about Division One college athletes. We are talking about kids in Virginia, and because the benefits of sports are so well documented, we think that every kid should have the ability to play sports.”