Plea deal over Twitter threats

Khaalid Abdulkadir, the 20- year- old Minneapolis man accused of tweeting death threats against a federal judge and agents last year, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge on what would have been the first day of his trial.

Abdulkadir, who had been charged with a felony and faced up to 15 years in prison, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and will receive three years’ probation.

As the plea hearing began, Abdulkadir’s lawyer, Chris Madel, said his client wanted to go to trial, adding, “I honestly think we were going to win.”

But during a long series of meetings, Abdulkadir consulted his parents and leaders of the Minneapolis Somali community and decided to take the plea agreement negotiated with federal prosecutors.