COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Iraqi man living in Columbus was sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison on Monday for plotting to assassinate former president George W. Bush.
Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 53, believed the former president was responsible for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart his home country during Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to United States Attorney Kenneth Parker.
Shihab entered the United States in September 2020 and mostly lived in Columbus from December 2020 to May 2022. Throughout that time, authorities say Shihab attempted to provide support material to terrorists to further a plot to kill Bush.
Shihab hoped to smuggle at least four Iraqis associated with ISIS into the country with the goal of assassinating the former president. In the fall of 2021, Shihab believed he successfully smuggled an ISIS member into the United States for a fee of $40,000. The individual did not exist and the interaction was coordinated under the direction of the FBI.
In February 2022, Shihab traveled to Dallas to conduct surveillance on locations associated with Bush. He recorded videos of the front access gate and surrounding area leading into the neighborhood of the former president's home.
A month later, Shihab met with others in a hotel room in Columbus to look at sample firearms and law enforcement uniforms.
He was arrested by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in May 2022. He pleaded guilty last year to attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
Shihab was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release following his prison sentence.