RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 20a0353p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ┐ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ │ > No. 19-3647 v. │ │ │ LAITH WALEED ALEBBINI, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Dayton. No. 3:17-cr-00071-1—Walter H. Rice, District Judge. Argued: October 20, 2020 Decided and Filed: November 5, 2020 Before: McKEAGUE, GRIFFIN, and BUSH, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Kevin M. Schad, FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellant. Vipal J. Patel, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Dayton, Ohio, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Kevin M. Schad, FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellant. Vipal J. Patel, Dominick S. Gerace II, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Dayton, Ohio, Justin Sher, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. _________________ OPINION _________________ JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. On April 26, 2017, FBI agents arrested Laith Waleed Alebbini at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. They suspected that he was No. 19-3647 United States v. Alebbini Page 2 attempting to travel to Turkey and then Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”)—a designated foreign terrorist organization. A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio returned an indictment charging Alebbini with attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS. Soon thereafter, Alebbini waived his right to trial by jury, and the case proceeded to a bench trial before the district court. After hearing evidence and arguments for ten days, the district court found Alebbini guilty on both counts. On appeal, Alebbini challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for both of his convictions. First, he argues that the proof was insufficient to convict him of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS because it did not demonstrate that he entered into any kind of agreement with his alleged co-conspirator and cousin, Raid Ababneh. Second, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of attempting to provide material support to ISIS because it did not demonstrate that he took a substantial step towards the crime charged, or that he intended to work under the direction and control of ISIS. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt. We therefore AFFIRM the district court’s judgment. I. BACKGROUND A. Alebbini’s Visit to the Turkish Embassy Laith Alebbini is a Jordanian national who immigrated to the United States in 2009 and became a permanent resident in 2014. On January 10, 2017, after years of researching ISIS and the greater conflict in Syria, Alebbini drove from his home in Gordonsville, Virginia to the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. He hoped to meet with the Turkish Ambassador to discuss the Syrian conflict. Although it was illegal to enter the embassy compound in an unauthorized vehicle, Alebbini drove in and parked. ...
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