Former Mayo Clinic researcher sentenced to 18 years in prison for planning to aid ISIS

A former Mayo Clinic research coordinator was sentenced Friday to 18 years in federal prison for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Muhammad Masood, 31, who had lived in Rochester, pleaded guilty to the charge last August in St. Paul federal court. He was a licensed medical doctor in Pakistan and had worked for the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic under an H-1B Visa before his arrest.

Masood's attorney, Jordan Kushner, blamed his client's action on mental illness. But Senior U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson told Masood that not withstanding those issues, "First and foremost, you are sitting in this court as a convicted terrorist. That's the way it is."

Magnuson noted that before his arrest, Masood had said: "I will kill or be killed."

Masood apologized to Magnuson, saying his life was falling apart at the time and that he now wanted to be a positive example to his siblings. He asked to serve his time at a prison in Massachusetts, where his brother lives. Magnuson said he'd make that recommendation, but that it was up to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

According to the criminal complaint filed in 2020, Masood wanted to fight for ISIS in Syria as a combat medic and talked of his desire to commit a "lone-wolf" style attack. He met at a Bloomington hotel with a confidential FBI informant who he believed would help him join ISIS, and he was patched into a video conference with a person he thought was an overseas commander.

According to prosecutors, Masood made multiple statements about his desire to join ISIS, and he pledged his allegiance to the organization and its leader.

On March 19, 2020, Masood was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by the FBI's joint terrorism task force as he was preparing to fly to Los Angeles to meet with another person he believed would put him on a cargo ship to Syria.

Masood, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, was escorted into the courtroom by two U.S. marshals for the 90-minute hearing.

Kushner argued that while Masood had pleaded guilty to providing material support to a terrorist group, he had not engaged in terrorism and thus wasn't a terrorist. He said Masood had spoken of going to Syria to offer medical aid but had not committed violence, and contended that guidelines calling for a longer sentence for terrorists shouldn't apply to him.

Kushner added that Masood had been hospitalized in Pakistan for bipolar disorder, and that his mental state deteriorated after a marriage in the United States fell apart.

However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Winter noted that Masood had said a person such as himself belonged on the battlefield. According to prosecution documents, Masood told an FBI informant that he wanted to "fight on the front line as well as help the wounded brothers."

A brother of Masood addressed the judge, saying Masood was "never desirous to hurt anyone" and that while his actions couldn't be excused, he was not a malicious person. The brother broke down in tears and was unable to finish, briefly leaving the courtroom.

At the start of the hearing, Magnuson said the maximum statutory sentence was 20 years. At the hearing's end, he said he was going to sentence Masood to a slightly shorter term, noting his participation in therapy sessions and cooperation with authorities at the Sherburne County jail where he's been incarcerated for 3-1/2 years since his arrest.

After the hearing, Kushner said Masood's mental illness should have been given greater consideration and that he would appeal the sentence. He also expressed disappointment that after listening to the arguments, Magnuson announced a short break and then issued a seven-page memorandum to the parties with his conclusions.

Magnuson, Kushner said, had "made up his mind before the hearing," and added: "What's the purpose of making arguments if the judge has made his decision?"

Tasha Zerna, public affairs officer in the U.S. Attorney's Office, said prosecutors had no comment on the sentence beyond a short news release.