A judge ordered a co-defendant in the Feeding Our Future case be sent to jail after prosecutors say he attempted to intimidate a witness last week.

Abdinasir Abshir is accused of approaching Sharmake Jama outside the courtroom as he was about to testify last week. Jama already pleaded guilty to his role in the fraud and agreed to testify at the trial of Aimee Bock, the former founder of Feeding Our Future and Salim Said, former co-owner of Safari Restaurant.

Abshir and his brother, Asad Abshir, are tied to Stigma-Free Mankato — a Feeding Our Future site.

According to recently unsealed federal court documents, prosecutors said that Postal Inspector John Western would be testifying about the site after the lunch break. They added that they planned to call a cooperating defendant to testify.

After the lunch break, Abshir and another man loudly came into the courtroom.

“Based on the timing of Abshir’s arrival in court, it appeared as though someone informed him of the testimony related to his fraudulent food site,” court documents state.

The documents go on to state that though the gallery was not crowded, Abshir and the other man sat in the row closest to the jury. The two were asked to leave after being disruptive.

Soon after, Jama’s attorney told prosecutors that Abshir had approached his client in the hallway and asked to go to the bathroom together. Jama was waiting on the bench outside the courtroom to testify and told Abshir he was testifying.

Jama said he felt intimidated and thought Abshir was trying to intimidate him. Jama’s lawyer said that after the interaction, Abshir and the other man sat at the other end of the hallway and stared at them.

A judge will decide whether Abshir should remain in custody at a detention hearing scheduled for Friday morning.

You can find KSTP’s full coverage of the Feeding Our Future case here.