Court document: Mosque bombing suspect tried to escape

MINNEAPOLIS – An Illinois man who faces trial in the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque had tried to escape from custody earlier this year.

A court document filed by prosecutors says 48-year-old Michael Hari tried to flee when he was being transported to a Minnesota jail. The report gives no details about the escape attempt.

Prosecutors say Hari was later moved to another Minnesota jail, and was placed in administrative segregation after trying to disable a security device in his cell.

Hari is the leader of a white militia group in Clarence, Illinois, and alleged ringleader behind the attack at Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. No one was injured in the bombing, which one co-defendant says was meant to scare Muslims into leaving the U.S.

Hari has pleaded not guilty. His two co-defendants have pleaded guilty .

Hari also faces charges in Illinois.