Arizona man sentenced to prison after hoax bomb threats at Christian churches
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null / Credit: Chodyra Mike 1/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Nov 11, 2025 / 11:40 am (CNA).An Arizona man will serve more than half a decade in prison after he carried out multiple hoax bomb threats at churches in the western U.S.The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release that 46-year-old Phoenix resident Zimnako Salah would spend six years in prison after his 2025 conviction in the terror plot.From September to November 2023 Salah "traveled to four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado" with black backpacks, according to the Department of Justice. At two churches he was turned away by security, while at two others he "planted" the backpacks, causing congregants to believe they contained bombs, the Justice Department said.Though the planted backpacks were in fact hoaxes, Salah reportedly had "been building a bomb capable of fitting in a backpack," the department said. FBI investigators said they seized "component parts of an improvised explosive device" fr...
null / Credit: Chodyra Mike 1/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2025 / 11:40 am (CNA).
An Arizona man will serve more than half a decade in prison after he carried out multiple hoax bomb threats at churches in the western U.S.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release that 46-year-old Phoenix resident Zimnako Salah would spend six years in prison after his 2025 conviction in the terror plot.
From September to November 2023 Salah "traveled to four Christian churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado" with black backpacks, according to the Department of Justice. At two churches he was turned away by security, while at two others he "planted" the backpacks, causing congregants to believe they contained bombs, the Justice Department said.
Though the planted backpacks were in fact hoaxes, Salah reportedly had "been building a bomb capable of fitting in a backpack," the department said. FBI investigators said they seized "component parts of an improvised explosive device" from a storage unit being rented by Salah.
Salah also had been actively searching for "extremist propaganda online," the government said, including searches for videos such as "infidels dying."
The jury that convicted Salah in 2025 found that he "targeted the church because of the religion of the people who worshipped there, making the offense a hate crime."
U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins levied a $10,000 fine against Salah, telling him he "failed to take responsibility for [his] actions."
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said Salah's ultimate goal appeared to be "many deaths and injuries."
"Thanks to the action of church security, local law enforcement, and the FBI, this defendant was stopped before he had a chance to carry out the crimes he sought to commit," he said.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, meanwhile, said in the press release that criminals "who target people because of their faith will face the full force of federal law."
"The Department of Justice will continue to protect the rights of all people of faith to worship and live free from fear, and we will hold accountable anyone who threatens or harms them," she said.
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Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, speaks with EWTN News on Oct. 9, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: EWTN NewsCNA Staff, Nov 11, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).Legislation that would provide protections for people lacking legal immigration status won endorsement from Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, who has served as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.The bill (HR 4393), which would not lay out a direct path to citizenship, would give people who lack legal status the chance to earn it through labor and financial penalties if they lack a criminal record. It would apply to people who entered the United States before 2021.The measure would authorize funding for border security and create centers for asylum seekers during consideration of their case. It would require asylum cases to be completed within 60 days.Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Florida, sponsored the measure, which she named the Dignity Act and first introduced in 2022. Rep. Veronica ...
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Archbishop Paul S. Coakley preaches during a Mass in the Oklahoma City cathedral in 2021. / Credit: Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityBaltimore, Maryland, Nov 11, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected to serve as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a secret ballot on Nov. 11.Bishops chose Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to serve as vice president. Flores, who serves in the southernmost diocese in Texas, finished second in balloting for president. Coakley subsequently won a runoff.Coakley, who was previously secretary of the USCCB, will serve a three-year term as president, succeeding the former president, Archbishop Timothy Broglio. The bishops held the election at the Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore.He has a history of promoting a culture of life, opposing gender ideology, and supporting migrants.The archbishop, who turned 70 years old in May, became a bishop in 2004. He has served in t...
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null / Credit: felipe caparros/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Nov 11, 2025 / 13:44 pm (CNA).Tennessee's Catholic bishops issued a plea for mercy, calling for an immediate halt to the death penalty and its eventual abolition as the state prepares to execute Harold Wayne Nichols on Dec. 1.Tennessee's three bishops, Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville, Bishop David P. Talley of Memphis, and Bishop Mark Beckman of Knoxville, as well as the Tennessee Catholic Conference issued a joint statement on Nov. 10 calling for an end to the death penalty in the state."The Catholic Church upholds the sacredness of every human life, even the life of one who is guilty of serious crimes," the bishops wrote. "To take a life in punishment denies the image of God in which every person is made. The Gospel calls not for vengeance but for mercy."The bishops acknowledged that the Church has historically recognized the state's right and duty to protect its citizens by sometimes employing the death penalty. Howe...
