An attorney for one of five young Twin Cities men facing trial on charges of supporting ISIL won court approval Friday to withdraw from the case after a week of controversy over comments by an imam who had been assisting in the defense.

At a hearing Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Michael Davis approved the motion by P. Chinedu Nwaneri to withdraw from the defense team for Mohamed Farah.

Davis was asked to consider whether to disqualify members of Farah's legal team after federal prosecutors said a co-defendant in the case said he learned about prayer for "individuals fighting in jihad" from the imam, Hassan Mohamud.

Farah is scheduled to stand trial with four others May 9 on charges of conspiracy to murder abroad and plotting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Speech at a mosque

The inquiry stemmed from an interview last month between federal investigators and Abdirizak Warsame, a co-defendant who pleaded guilty earlier this year and has agreed to cooperate. Warsame told investigators he heard the remarks from Mohamud, who holds a law degree and has been advising Farah's defense team through Nwaneri's firm, speaking to a group of people at a mosque one night.

That kicked off a round of motions by attorneys in the case, with some arguing that prosecutors had misinterpreted Mohamud's use of the term "jihad" and another disclosing that Mohamud tried to dissuade his client from pleading guilty last year. Multiple co-defendants, meanwhile, asked for separate trials if Mohamud were allowed a seat at a defense table.

Mohamed Abdihamid Farah

After an hourlong hearing in a full Minneapolis courtroom, Davis allowed Nwaneri and Mohamud to withdraw but took the other filings under advisement until next week. Nwaneri said he wanted to stop further distractions and hoped attention could turn to "the real issues in controversy between the parties."

"It is not in doubt that these events detract defense counsel from concentrating solely on the defense of the various defendants and create future uncertainty in this complex matter," Nwaneri said Friday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Docherty said he believed the government went out of its way in making a transcript of Warsame's conversation with investigators available.

"This was not a discussion of an abstract theological point, but a matter of getting psyched up to go to Syria," Docherty said.

Docherty said the recording's context, two weeks before two of the defendants were arrested in California after allegedly seeking fake passports to Mexico, was also important.

Losing Mohamud 'big blow'

Murad Mohammad, a Twin Cities attorney with his own practice, will continue representing Farah. He told Davis that Mohamud helped with translation and advised on the Somali-American community's structure. "To lose him in a case like this would be a big blow to anybody."

Attorneys for other defendants — which include Mohamed Farah's brother, Adnan Farah, Guled Omar, Abdirahman Daud and Hamza Ahmed — voiced a range of concerns, including how Mohamud's presence at the defense table at trial would have prejudiced their clients.

Bruce Nestor, an attorney for Daud, pointed out that Warsame said that each time he visited Mohamud's St. Paul mosque, "the message was always moderate and against jihad." Glenn Bruder, Omar's attorney, said what Warsame referenced was "exactly an abstract discussion" that didn't involve a "teacher-student relationship." But, he said, media coverage that followed the disclosure raised concerns over the credibility of the defense.

Judge's concern

Mohamed Farah assured Davis that he was comfortable with Nwaneri's request to leave the case. But Davis, concerned that Farah appeared nervous, said he would not make any other decisions about the case Friday and invited Farah to contact him if he had any questions.

"I don't want you to think you can get railroaded down off to prison," Davis said.

Mohammad agreed with Davis that losing two-thirds of his defense team a month before trial was "a very valid concern" and asked Davis to consider allowing him to have a second attorney appointed. Community leaders and activists later gathered outside the federal building to support Mohamud, calling him an important figure in the Somali-American community.

Ayan Farah, the accused men's mother, said the court proceedings were heartbreaking and expressed fears over the developments so close to trial.

"I worry, you know," said.

Stephen Montemayor • 612-673-1755

Twitter: @smontemayor