A 46-year-old Phoenix resident and Iraqi native received a maximum six-year prison sentence Friday on a hate crime charge for playing out plans to bomb Christian churches in three states.
Zimnako Salah visited four churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado in late 2023, according to evidence presented at his trial earlier this year. Salah placed black backpacks inside two of the churches — one in Sacramento, California, and another in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Congregants and security personnel found the backpacks. The Scottsdale backpack was left among pews during a service by a masked man, per details in federal court documents. Police found clothing inside it…