Two brothers from Minneapolis appeared in court Wednesday morning in connection with an alleged plot to bribe a juror in the recent Feeding Our Future fraud trial.

Said Shafii Farah, 42, and Abdulkarim Shafii Farah, 24, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis.

They are two of five people charged last week with counts including conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror and corruptly influencing a juror.

Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung told the courtroom that in his time on the bench he’s never experienced an alleged attempt to bribe a jury in a “pre-calculated and organized way,” adding it was an attack “on the heart of our judicial system.”

In court documents, prosecutors allege the scheme included delivering $120,000 in a gift bag to the juror’s home, a note to vote “not guilty” for the defendants and a list of arguments to convince the other jurors to do the same — promising more money if she voted to acquit.

“These defendants engaged in a chilling attack on our justice system,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said during last Wednesday’s news conference. “They sought to buy a juror and use her to infiltrate the jury with their own false arguments — arguments that had nothing to do with the evidence or law.”

Investigators said the juror stepped forward to report to authorities the money and note that were left at her home.

The juror was removed from the case before deliberations began in the Feeding Our Future fraud trial that centered around federal pandemic child nutrition payments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson told the judge Wednesday that the juror who was targeted remains “terrified” after what played out at her home.

Prosecutors asked the three defendants remain in federal custody, and the judge granted the request.

Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, 35, of Savage was granted a continuance in the case, as he just switched legal counsel and is scheduled to be back in court next week for an arraignment and detention hearing.