UNITED STATES V. MOHAMUD 5 OPINION OWENS, Circuit Judge: Mohamed Osman Mohamud appeals from his conviction for attempting to detonate a large bomb during the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland, Oregon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2332a(a)(2)(A). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.1 I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND A. Mohamud’s Activities Before Contact with the FBI In many respects, Mohamud was like any other American teenager. He liked music, the Los Angeles Lakers, and hanging out with his friends. Born in Somalia, he immigrated to the United States at the age of three, and grew up in the Portland area. But after a December 2008 incident at London’s Heathrow Airport, things changed. Believing that airport security racially profiled him, Mohamud wrote an email in London stating that it is “the evil zionist-crusader lobbyists who control the world,” and calling on Allah to send fighters against them. He also created a new email account while in London—truthbespoken@googlemail.com. That email account would play a significant role in the prosecution’s case. 1 We resolve several of Mohamud’s arguments in a concurrently filed memorandum disposition.