MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A suspected terrorist in Minnesota now has a license to operate a public school bus, and a lot of folks aren’t very happy about it.

The state Department of Public Safety issued Amir Meshal a commercial driver’s license Aug. 3, and a bus driver’s endorsement Sept. 9, after he completed coursework, passed road tests and cleared a criminal background check, CBS Minnesota reports.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, considers Meshal “an individual who represents a threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism” and has placed the aspiring bus driver on the federal “No Fly” list, according to Fox 9.

Meshal reportedly used a $4,000 state grant to attend a Twin Cities truck driving school.

Parents and lawmakers are concerned because Meshal was charged with attempting to recruit young kids to travel to Syria from the Al Farooq mosque in Bloomington last May. Religious leaders told police at the time they “have concerns about Meshal interacting with our youth” – the same reason he was forced to leave a different mosque in Eden Prairie.

Those developments came after Meshal was detained by the FBI in Kenya because authorities believed he visited a terrorist training camp in Kenya. Homeland Security officials and the Transportation Security Administration put Meshal on the “No Fly” list because he “may be a threat to civil aviation or national security.”

“It has been determined that you are an individual who represents a threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism and who is operationally capable of doing so,” according to a Homeland Security letter to Meshal cited by Fox 9.

Even Meshal’s relatives have come out against the suspected terrorist in interviews with Fox 9.

Tony Osman discussed an eye-opening road trip he took with his cousin from Minnesota to New Jersey a couple of years ago.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

“He said Jihad is the greatest and highest and best thing you can do in Islam. And the best deed equaled by none,” Osman said. “On the car ride, Amir was listening to Blind Sheikh and Osama Bin Laden. Video tapes on his handheld device connected through the speakers. They were lectures and promoting Jihad.”

“He seemed to be very fascinated and enthralled by it,” Osman continued. “I asked him also what he thought about ISIS and this was like June or July. He said they’re a good group, seems they want to implement the Koran and the Sharia.”

Osman also alleges Meshal spoke of his 2007 trip overseas.

“He said, do you know the real reason I went to Somalia? And I said, no I don’t. This the first time I am hearing this. (Meshal:) I went to train with some high level Al Qaeda people how had just returned from Afghanistan,” Osman told Fox 9.

Osman said he also witnessed Meshal speaking with students from a Bloomington mosque who prosecutors now allege were attempting to flee the country to join ISIS in Syria.

Another relative, Abil Ashour, told the news site Meshal was a changed man when he stayed with him after returning from Somalia.

“What I saw when he came back was not the same kid that I was and lived with me that I knew from New Jersey,” Ashour said. “I felt like I was helping a terrorist lie low in my basement.”

Ashour told Fox 9 he believes Meshal is looking to become a martyr.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety issued a statement about Meshal because of intense media coverage.

“The Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services Division (DPS-DVS) has a legal obligation to issue driver’s licenses to qualified applicants when all requirements in Minnesota law have been met.

“DPS-DVS does not have the authority to deny a license unless there is a specific reason to do so as outlined in the law,” the statement read.

“There’s nothing in state or federal law that would allow DPS-DVS to deny a license to an individual for being on a “no fly” list, or for other reasons mentioned in recent media stories. Denying a license for this reason would require a change in state or federal law.”

Meshal is suing the federal government with the help of the ACLU, and his attorney claims he’s just a peaceful family man, CBS Minnesota reports.

“Like any other American, Mr. Meshal is entitled to obtain a license for a job so he can build a full and peaceful life for his family, including his 11-month-old baby,” said Hina Shamsi, Director of the National Security Project at the ACLU. “He has never been charged with a crime and has sued the government to obtain a fair process to challenge his wrongful inclusion on the No Fly List. Any suggestion that Mr. Meshal’s license somehow presents a concern is meritless and unfair.”

Regardless, lawmakers like State Rep. Brian Johnson believe that if someone can’t be trusted on a plane, they certainly should not be driving around dozens of kids.

“We have the safety of our children to think about,” he said. “I am concerned that they granted him a commercial drivers license as well.”

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton echoed Johnson’s concern, and said he plans to request that the legislature address the issue next year.

“Anyone who is not safe to fly on a plane shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything larger than a car,” a Dayton spokesman told the news site.