979 F.3d 537
6th Cir.2020Background
- Alebbini, a Jordanian permanent resident, expressed long-standing support for ISIS, visited the Turkish embassy uninvited, and earlier attempted travel to Turkey with his cousin Raid (Raid later entered Turkey and was detained in Jordan).
- FBI opened an investigation after Alebbini admitted viewing pro-ISIS videos and saying he would be a "perfect recruit for ISIS"; surveillance and a confidential informant recorded multiple Arabic conversations showing pro-ISIS statements and plans.
- Recorded and family conversations described a joint pledge with Raid, references to an "execution phase," plans to travel via Turkey (miss a connection to reach ISIS territory), and concern that Raid might implicate Alebbini.
- On April 26, 2017, Alebbini drove ~75 miles to the Cincinnati airport, obtained boarding passes for travel to Turkey (then Jordan), moved toward the security checkpoint, and was arrested; he waived Miranda and reiterated pro-ISIS intentions.
- Grand jury indicted Alebbini for attempt and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (18 U.S.C. § 2339B); after a 10-day bench trial the district court convicted and sentenced him to 180 months; he appealed on sufficiency grounds.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conspiracy (Count 2) | Govt: Recorded conversations, family statements, Raid's travel/arrest, and Alebbini's own admissions show a tacit agreement with Raid to join/support ISIS | Alebbini: No independent evidence Raid agreed; co-conspirator intent cannot rest solely on his statements | Affirmed — sufficient circumstantial evidence of an agreement (tacit understanding; corroborating conduct) |
| Attempt — Substantial step (Count 1) | Govt: Traveling to airport, obtaining boarding passes, and moving toward security constituted objective substantial steps beyond mere preparation | Alebbini: Acts were preparatory or ambiguous (could have been heading elsewhere; might have changed his mind) | Affirmed — travel, ticketing, and approach to gate corroborated criminal intent and were a substantial step |
| Attempt — Direction & control (Count 1) | Govt: Alebbini’s statements about ISIS assigning migrants to roles, pledging, and intent to be an inghimasi show intent to serve under ISIS direction and control | Alebbini: He intended to fight Assad or to assess ISIS, not necessarily to submit to ISIS command structure | Affirmed — record supports intent to work under ISIS direction and control |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency-of-evidence review)
- Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1 (2010) (interpreting material-support statute)
- United States v. Wesley, 417 F.3d 612 (6th Cir. 2005) (substantial-step analysis for attempt)
- Whitfield v. United States, 543 U.S. 209 (2005) (courts should not read an overt-act requirement into a conspiracy statute when Congress omitted it)
- United States v. Farhane, 634 F.3d 127 (2d Cir. 2011) (substantial-step precedent involving overt acts toward providing support)
- United States v. Pugh, 945 F.3d 9 (2d Cir. 2019) (travel to Turkey and related conduct can constitute a substantial step)
- United States v. LaPointe, 690 F.3d 434 (6th Cir. 2012) (law enforcement need not wait for last act to intervene)
- United States v. Hendricks, 950 F.3d 348 (6th Cir. 2020) (circumstantial evidence can sustain conviction)
- United States v. Ellzey, 874 F.2d 324 (6th Cir. 1989) (conspiracy may be inferred from circumstantial evidence)