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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Columbus man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to taking part in a terrorist organization’s plot to murder former President George W. Bush.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 53, was sentenced in federal court on Monday to 178 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release following his prison sentence, according to U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker.
“[Shihab] believed the former president was responsible for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart the entire country of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said Parker. “The defendant’s own life changed during and after the war and he proudly assisted in this plot.”
The 53-year-old pleaded guilty in March 2023 to attempting to provide material support to terrorists after he was arrested by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force agents in May 2022.
Shihab entered the United States in September 2020 and primarily resided in Columbus from December 2020 until his arrest in 2022. Parker said, that throughout much of that time, Shihab attempted to provide material support to terrorists as part of a plot to assassinate Bush.
Shihab was planning to smuggle at least four Iraqis associated with ISIS into the U.S. with the goal of completing the assassination, Parker said.
In fall of 2021, Shihab believed he successfully smuggled an ISIS member into the U.S. for a fee of $40,000. In reality, Parker said the individual was fictitious and the interaction was coordinated under the direction of the FBI.
Shihab had also traveled to Dallas in February 2022 to conduct surveillance of locations associated with Bush. For example, Parker said he recorded videos of the front access gate and the surrounding area leading into the neighborhood of Bush’s home.
In March 2022, Shihab met with others in a hotel room in Columbus to look at sample firearms and law enforcement uniforms. Parker said Shihab required the use of burner phones, encrypted communication applications and code names as plans evolved.
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