A federal jury convicted Firomsa Ahmed Umar on counts of arson and attempted arson and counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection to two firebombing incidents of an ice cream shop that occurred last fall in Minneapolis, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced on Thursday.
The jury also found that Umar targeted Fletcher’s Ice Cream & Cafe due to its prominent LGBTQ Pride flag mounted on the exterior of the business at the time.
Umar, 31, was captured on surveillance images throwing homemade destructive devices at Fletcher’s: once on Oct. 19, 2025, and again on Oct. 20, 2025. In each incident, Umar threw glass bottles filled with gasoline. One contained a mixture known as “improvised napalm,” a press release from the U.S. attorney said.
The building that houses Fletcher’s is located on the border between northeast and southeast Minneapolis and is located on the same block where Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey lived at the time with his wife and two children in a loft apartment. The mayor has since moved to a home in south Minneapolis.
The U.S. attorney summarized the attacks, saying that in the first attack on the night of Oct. 19, Umar lobbed the first Molotov cocktail at Fletcher’s large front windows, which broke both panes of glass and ignited in a large blast of flame. Fortunately, employees of a nearby business responded quickly and put out the remaining flames.
Umar returned the next day on Oct. 20, attempted to open the door, found it locked, and again threw a similar Molotov cocktail at the façade. The cloth wick inserted into the mixture fell from the bottle, causing a failure to ignite the device, but did cause further damage to the window.
Umar was captured near the University of Minnesota shortly after the second attack, and was found with a gas can, a lighter, a third bottle stuffed with an ingredient for improvised napalm, and other Molotov cocktail components nearby.
In addition to evidence presented at trial indicating that Umar chose Fletcher’s due to the prominent Pride flag displayed, the jury heard details from another case that was charged after Umar was already in custody and didn’t get any media attention at the time.
Charges in that case state that on Sept. 24, 2025, Umar stopped at a building in downtown Minneapolis while delivering a Door Dash order. He then got back into his vehicle and drove a short distance before exiting again outside the American Trio Lofts near 3rd Street and Park Avenue and spray-painted graffiti on the building containing the word “GAY” overlaid with a crossed-out circle.
Following the firebombing attacks last fall but before Umar’s identity had become public, Fletcher’s owner, Jason Fletcher, told media he believed the attack was due to the Pride flag. Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez also condemned the attack on social media and implied it was due to anti-LGBTQ bias. Neither Fletcher nor Chavez appeared to post any public comments following Umar’s conviction on Thursday.
Umar will be sentenced at a later date.
The case is the result of a joint investigation by ATF, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Minneapolis Fire Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
