Man admits bombing Minneapolis hair salon, returning year later and vandalizing the shop

A 59-year-old man has admitted that he set off a bomb at a Minneapolis hair salon in 2022 and returned a year later to lob a brick through the store’s window.

Michael Allen Francisco pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to using an explosive to “maliciously damage or destroy” a business following a lengthy federal investigation that included forensic analysis and an eventual admission during a search of the man’s home in March.

The plea agreement calls for Francisco to serve the mandatory minimum of at least five years in prison followed by anywhere from one to three years of supervised release. Francisco also agreed that he is obligated to pay more than $170,000 in restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 5.

According to a sworn affidavit from a special agent assigned to the FBI’s joint terrorism task force, video images from a Ring device showed Francisco placing an explosive on the window of the Studio 411 Salon, at 411 S. Cedar Lake Road, and fleeing in a vehicle before it detonated about 2:50 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2022.

Read more: Minneapolis Star-Tribune