Phoenix man found guilty of hate crime for church bomb hoax in California

A Phoenix man was found guilty on Thursday for his role in a hate crime that involved a hoax bomb threat that targeted a Christian church in California, authorities said.

A jury found Zimnako Salah, 45, guilty of “strapping a backpack around a toilet of a Christian church in Roseville, California with the intention to carry out a hoax bomb threat and obstructing freedom of religion,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Salah is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18. He faces up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins will handle the sentencing.

Although he was convicted for one hoax that occurred in California, authorities said Salah went to four churches in total across Arizona, California and Colorado while wearing black backpacks in late 2023.

Read more: KTAR