Some convictions overturned in terrorism case against Muslim scholar from Virginia
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A judge has overturned the life sentence of a Virginia Islamic scholar who was found guilty of incitement to treason after the September 11 attacks, alleging that he encouraged his followers to fight the United States in Afghanistan.
Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema overturns three of the 10 charges against Ali Al-Timimi. But she upheld other charges that could send him to prison for decades, in addition to the 15 years he has already served.
Al-Timimi, 60, was charged in 2004 and convicted in 2005. Prosecutors said the U.S.-born scientist, who grew up in the country’s capital and had earned a doctorate in computational biology shortly before his arrest, enjoyed rock-star status among his small group of followers.
At a private meeting a few days after the September 11 attacks, al-Timimi told his followers — some of whom had trained for jihad by playing paintball in the Virginia woods — that an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and the West was looming and that Muslims had an obligation to defend the Taliban if they were able, according to testimony at the trial.
Several members even traveled to Pakistan and received military training from a militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba, but none ever actually joined the Taliban.
After Brinkema’s statement on Thursday, it is unclear what will happen to Al-Timimi. He was released from prison in 2020 and was confined to his home, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic and partly because his appeals have been delayed for almost 20 years.
The 4th U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond has not yet heard al-Timimi’s initial appeal of his conviction, but it is expected that the appeal can now proceed. Al-Timimi’s attorneys have argued, among other things, that his conviction violates the First Amendment by punishing him for his statements.
Al-Timimi is likely to remain in home custody while the appeal is heard, unless prosecutors or the judge decide to return him to prison.
The charges that were overturned concern whether they were based on an unconstitutionally vague “crime of violence.” The issue stems from Supreme Court cases over the past nine years that have influenced many criminal cases across the country.
Prosecutors argued the convictions should stand, but Brinkema said incitement to treason is not necessarily a crime of violence and can be accomplished “by aiding and abetting one’s enemies, which does not necessarily require the use, attempted use, or threat of physical force.”
She rejected allegations that prosecutors failed to disclose information showing that the government intended to use another Northern Virginia cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, as an informant against al-Timimi, and that al-Awlaki had tried unsuccessfully to lure al-Timimi into illegal activities as part of a government scheme.
Al-Awlaki later left the US and became a leader of al-Qaeda, before being killed in a US drone strike.
Prosecutors have long maintained that they have revealed all they need to about the meeting between the two clerics. Brinkema confirmed in her ruling Thursday that she reviewed the documents in question years ago and also concluded that the defense had no right to any information because it did nothing to suggest al-Timimi’s innocence.
Neither the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia nor Al-Timimi’s attorneys responded to emails seeking comment Friday.