Hamdi Mohamud

In June 2011, then 16-year-old Hamdi Mohamud found herself watching a fight between three older girls. She was a bystander and did not participate in any of it. The next thing Hamdi saw was one of the girls—Muna—coming after her and the other girls with a knife. They called the police to save their lives.

Minneapolis police officer Anthijuan Beeks responded to the call.

After the attack, Muna called St. Paul police officer Heather Weyker for help. Weyker was working on a federal task force; she was at that point manufacturing a bogus criminal case against dozens of people, none of whom were ever convicted. Weyker sought to protect Muna—the girl who threatened Hamdi and the others with a knife—because Muna was a witness in Weyker’s contrived investigation.

While Beeks was investigating the knife attack, he received a message to call Weyker. Weyker told him lies to prompt him to arrest the three other girls instead of Muna. Although the altercation had nothing to do with Weyker’s investigation, Weyker lied to Beeks, telling him that the three girls were trying to intimidate Muna to discourage her from cooperating with Weyker. As a result, Hamdi and her friends were arrested on suspicion of tampering with a federal witness.

Weyker’s documented lies didn’t stop there. The next day, she composed a federal criminal complaint and affidavit, which included fabricated facts and information Weyker knew to be false. She also withheld facts showing that Hamdi and her friends were innocent—all with the intention that the girls would continue to be detained without any probable cause. Weyker’s plan worked. Although Hamdi never should have been charged with any crimes in the first place, she ended up spending two years in jail because of issues arising from supervised release on Weyker’s false charges of tampering with a federal witness and obstructing an investigation.

Eventually, Hamdi’s friends were acquitted and the charges against Hamdi were dismissed before trial.