In the third controversial congressional hearing on Muslim extremism Wednesday, Chair Peter King pointed directly at Minneapolis connections to al-Shabaab as a threat to United States security, although no Minnesota Somali-Americans were invited to testify. In his opening statement, King said al-Shabaab should not be viewed as a threat to only Somalia: ”With al-Shabaab’s large cadre of American jihadis and unquestionable ties to al-Qaeda, particularly its alliance with AQAP, we must face the reality that al-Shabaab is a growing threat to our homeland.” More than 20 Somali-Americans from Minneapolis have been recruited to al-Shabaab in recent years, according to law enforcement. King pointed to a guilty plea by an al-Shabaab recruiter and a very public scuffle in the state’s largest mosque as evidence that “jihadi sympathizers” are active in the Minneapolis community