30
UNITED STATES V. MOHAMUD
as a teenager trying to talk tough, they were enough to
support the jury’s finding, and for us to conclude that
Mohamud was not the “otherwise innocent person” that the
entrapment-as-a-matter-of-law doctrine requires. Smith,
802 F.2d at 1124; cf. United States v. Cromitie, 727 F.3d 194,
207–08 (2d Cir. 2013) (holding that the defendant in a similar
case was not entrapped as a matter of law, and observing that
“potential terrorists who are available to be recruited by Al
Qaeda or similar groups” may not have necessarily already
formed a specific plan, but “[t]heir predisposition is to have
a state of mind that inclines them to inflict harm on the
United States, be willing to die like a martyr, be receptive to
a recruiter’s presentation, . . . and welcome an invitation to
participate”).
In addition, the jury learned of Mohamud’s
correspondence with Al-Ali, which began months before the
first contact from Bill Smith. The jury also learned of
Mohamud’s desire to go abroad and study at the Islamic
school in Yemen that Al-Ali recommended to him. A
government expert testified that this school was founded by
a Muslim cleric who supported jihad and that it served as a
“stepping stone” to violent jihad, especially for people from
the West. As detailed above, the same day that Al-Ali told
Mohamud about the school in Yemen, Mohamud apparently
made plans to leave the United States. Though Mohamud
ultimately remained in the country, the jury could have
reasonably interpreted his attempt as evidence of a
predisposition to commit the crime charged. Further,
Mohamud continued to demonstrate interest in attending the
school in his December 2009 emails to Al-Ali, which
occurred after the Bill Smith emails.
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