Two days after the attack , Abdulmutallab was released from the hospital in which he had been treated for burns sustained during the attempted bombing . He was taken to the Federal Correctional Institution , Milan , a federal prison in York Charter Township , Michigan , near Milan . A number of sources reported contacts between Abdulmutallab and Anwar al-Awlaki , the late Muslim lecturer and spiritual leader who the U.S. accused as a senior al-Qaeda talent recruiter and motivator . al-Awlaki , previously an imam in the U.S. , who had moved to Yemen , also had links to three of the 9/11 hijackers , the 2005 London subway bombers , a 2006 Toronto terror cell , a 2007 plot to attack Fort Dix , and the 2009 suspected Fort Hood shooter , Nidal Malik Hasan . In 2006 , he was banned from entering the UK ; al-Awlaki repeatedly used a video link for public speeches from 2007 to 2009
Fort Hood shooter
2009 Fort Hood shooting
Northwest Airlines Flight 253