ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota woman who authorities say had hoped to kill people when she set fires on a college campus has been ordered detained by a federal judge.
Nineteen-year-old Tnuza Jamal Hassan of Minneapolis was arrested last month after allegedly setting nine fires at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. No one was hurt in the fires, which prosecutors say Hassan set months after she tried to go to Afghanistan to join al-Qaida.
Hassan pleaded not guilty Monday to federal counts of attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida, lying to the FBI and arson.
Her attorney, Robert Sicoli, said Hassan is unsophisticated and had no contact with anyone in Afghanistan. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Winter argued she’s self-radicalized and dangerous.
U.S. Magistrate Steven Rau ordered her detained.