Father of Terror Suspect Claims FBI "Brainwashed" His Son

The father of an Oregon terror suspect says his then-teenage son suffered an identity crisis after the FBI brainwashed him.

Osman Barre, the father of Somali-American terrorism suspect Mohamed Mohamud (photo shown above), testified Monday as the first defense witness that he was concerned for his son's safety when he contacted the FBI in 2009.

Barre said his son was planning to fly to Yemen to learn Arabic during a time when teenagers were reportedly joining a mujahdeen in Somalia, prompting him to reach out to the bureau. By then, agents had been watching Mohamud (then 17) for months after being accused of attempting to detonate a bomb at a Portland Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in November 2010. The bomb was a fake supplied by undercover FBI agents whom Mohamud thought were al-Qaida recruiters.

Authorities say the FBI was tracking Mohamud's online contacts with Islamic radicals in early 2009. Defense attorneys have argued that the bureau could have informed Barre and Mohamud's mother about the contacts with radicals but agents testified that providing such information could have compromised ongoing investigations into the jihadi contacts Mohamud was involved with.

Barre testified Monday that he now thinks it was an elaborate FBI sting that's responsible for his son's mental breakdown. Barre said he did not hear anything further from FBI agents until his son was arrested.