Case: 18-14184 Date Filed: 09/29/2020 Page: 1 of 31 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-14184 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 3:17-cr-00240-HES-JBT-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus BERNANDINO GAWALA BOLATETE, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ________________________ (September 29, 2020) Before BRANCH, LUCK, and ED CARNES, Circuit Judges. ED CARNES, Circuit Judge: At 70 years old and in failing health, Bernandino Bolatete decided that his last act on this Earth would be one of hatred and violence. He made plans to climb Case: 18-14184 Date Filed: 09/29/2020 Page: 2 of 31 to the top of a tower at a mosque in Florida and shoot innocent Muslims. He had an arsenal of rifles to carry out the attack and knew how to use them. Fortunately, someone overheard Bolatete talking about his plans and reported him to law enforcement. An undercover detective gained Bolatete’s trust, confirmed that he planned to attack the mosque, and then sold him an unregistered firearm silencer. Because possessing an unregistered silencer is a federal crime, Bolatete was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison where he is today. The district court rejected Bolatete’s constitutional challenge to the statute making it a crime to receive or possess an unregistered firearm silencer. The court sentenced him to 60 months in prison. This is his appeal of his conviction and sentence. I. BACKGROUND A. Facts In late 2017, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received a tip that Bolatete was planning to commit a mass shooting at a local mosque. The person who provided the tip said that Bolatete had just been given some “bad news” about the condition of his one remaining kidney and would have to start dialysis soon. She reported that Bolatete was going to time the mass murder for when he otherwise would have had to start dialysis; apparently, he did not plan on surviving his crime. 2 Case: 18-14184 Date Filed: 09/29/2020 Page: 3 of 31 A Sheriff’s Office detective with a long resumé of undercover work was assigned to investigate. The detective’s plan was to take on an undercover persona as a Muslim-hating gun enthusiast named “Drew” and gain Bolatete’s trust so he could find out if he was serious about killing Muslims at the mosque. The detective introduced himself as Drew at the liquor store where Bolatete worked, and the two of them bonded over their “shared” hatred of Muslims and love of guns. Less than two weeks after the detective and Bolatete met, they went to a shooting range together. The detective drove Bolatete to the range in a car that had been wired to covertly record video and sound. Their route took them by the mosque that Bolatete had planned to attack, and as they drove by, the detective made a comment about the mosque. That passing comment was all it took to get Bolatete to start sharing his violent plans. Bolatete pointed out a tower near ...
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