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 pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, 23, changed his plea to guilty during an appearance before U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank in St. Paul.

When Hassan was charged in February, prosecutors said he had expressed admiration on social media for the man who carried out a 

 in New Orleans that killed 14 people. That attacker was killed by police. His truck bore the flag of the 

Prosecutors say Hassan tried twice in December to travel from Minnesota to Somalia to join the group and fight on its behalf but failed both times. The FBI had been tipped beforehand about a social media user who had expressed support for the Islamic State group and the Somali militant group al-Shabab, and agents conducted surveillance of Hassan on both attempts.

The first time Hassan tried to travel to Somalia, according to court documents, the airline denied him boarding because he lacked the proper travel documents. He missed the second flight while federal officers questioned him, but he wasn't detained until his arrest in February.

The FBI said it observed Hassan driving with the group's flag the day before his arrest.

“There is no margin for error when it comes to terrorism,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said in a statement. “Hassan flew the ISIS flag, venerated attacks on the homeland, and wanted to kill Americans. We are not taking chances. We will not let Minnesota become a safe haven for terrorists.”

Hassan, a naturalized U.S. citizen, remains in custody. A sentencing date has not been set. Under a plea agreement, the government agreed not to seek a sentence longer than 17 years, while the defense is free to recommend anything it wants. The final decision is up to the judge.

 on behalf of the Islamic State group in 2019 was 

 of leaving or trying to leave the U.S. to join the Islamic State group in recent years, along with thousands of fighters from other countries. In 2016 nine Minnesotans were sentenced on charges of conspiring to join the group, and one who actually fought for the group in Iraq 

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A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to attempting to join the Islamic State group. Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan changed his plea during a court appearance on Monday. 

Minnesota man pleads guilty to attempting to join Islamic State group

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