Appeals court upholds conviction in Portland car bomb plot

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Somali American sentenced to 30 years in prison for plotting to bomb downtown Portland during the annual lighting of a Christmas tree.

The truck bomb was a fake given to him in 2010 by undercover FBI agents posing as terrorists.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that a U.S. District Court judge properly rejected Mohamed Mohamud’s claim of entrapment.

The 50-page opinion states the government’s conduct was aggressive, but the sting fell short of a due process violation.

The court also rejected an assertion that the warrantless surveillance of his foreign communications violated his constitutional rights.