U.S. Army Official Condemns Minnesota Welfare Funds Diversion to Terrorists

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub, a senior geopolitical strategist, expressed outrage over a report that Minnesota taxpayer dollars were being funneled to a terrorist group. “That’s terrible,” Gaub said in an interview. The report suggests that millions of dollars in stolen Minnesota welfare funds were allegedly diverted by members of the state’s Somali community to al-Shabab, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida.

Gaub compared this to the continued funding of the Taliban in Afghanistan, stating, “Tell me the difference. Whether it’s Minnesota taxpayer dollars through the state level or federal tax dollars through Washington, D.C., going to fund anything like the Taliban, al-Shabab, or any other organization that’s like-minded, that’s a terrible thing to do.”

The alleged diversion of funds occurred against the backdrop of what prosecutors have described as one of the largest welfare-fraud waves in state history, with total losses possibly reaching hundreds of millions of dollars across multiple state Department of Human Services programs. Al-Shabab has killed more U.S. citizens than any other al-Qaida affiliate and, as of 2025, is al-Qaida’s wealthiest component.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated on X that “This is a national security problem. America deserves answers and accountability, NOW.” He criticized the system for being too loose, corrupt, and politically timid, allowing fraudsters to exploit it to bankroll terrorists abroad.

Gaub expressed opposition to providing so much money in foreign aid, saying, “You really don’t know who you’re funding.”