Walz to visit Bloomington mosque to support assaulted imam

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison plan to visit a Bloomington mosque Friday in a show of solidarity with an imam who was assaulted on his way to nightly prayers.

The governor's office says they're going to the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center to call for religious acceptance and unity in response to the Aug. 6 attack on Sheikh Mohamed Mukhtar.

The imam was assaulted while walking to prayers just one day after the three-year anniversary of a bombing at the mosque. He suffered a shoulder injury. Police have described the suspects are two males in their late teens or early 20s and said there was no immediate evidence the attack was a bias crime.

The governor, attorney general and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan will be joined by Imam Mohamed Omar of the Dar al-Farooq Center and other faith leaders, including the Rev. Curtiss DeYoung of the Minnesota Council of Churches and Rabbi Jill Crimmings of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association.

An Illinois militia leader accused of being the ringleader in the 2017 bombing of the mosque is still awaiting trial. Two co-defendants have pleaded guilty. Prosecutors allege they hoped to scare Muslims into leaving the U.S. No one was injured in that attack.