U.S. v. Lindh

• Citation: 212 F.Supp.2d 541
• Decision Date: 11 July 2002
• Docket Number: No. Crim. 02-37-A.,Crim. 02-37-A.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. John Phillip Walker LINDH.
• Court: United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of Virginia)

Page 541

212 F.Supp.2d 541

UNITED STATES of America, v. John Phillip Walker LINDH.

No. Crim. 02-37-A.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division.

July 11, 2002.

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Randy Bellows, United States Attorney's Office, Alexandria, VA, for plaintiff.

William Bruce Cummings, David Thomas Williams, William B. Cummings, P.C., Alexandria, VA, James Brosnahan, San Francisco, CA, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLIS, District Judge.

John Phillip Walker Lindh ("Lindh") is an American citizen who, according to the ten-count Indictment filed against him in February 2002, joined certain foreign terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and served these organizations there in combat against Northern Alliance and American forces until his capture in November 2001. In seven threshold motions, Lindh sought dismissal of certain counts of the Indictment on a variety of grounds, including lawful combatant immunity and selective prosecution. Lindh also sought dismissal, or alternatively, transfer of venue, arguing that he could not receive a fair trial in this district owing to pre-trial publicity. All motions were denied following extensive briefing and oral argument. See United States v. Lindh, Criminal No. 02-37-A (E.D.Va. June 17, 2002) (Order). Recorded here are the reasons underlying those rulings.¹

I.

The Indictment's allegations may be succinctly summarized. In mid-2001, Lindh attended a military training camp in Pakistan run by Harakat ul-Mujahideen ("HUM"), a terrorist group dedicated to an extremist view of Islam.² After receiving several weeks of training, Lindh informed HUM officials that "he wished to fight with the Taliban³ in Afghanistan." Indictment. p. 6, ¶ 5. Thus, in May or June 2001, he traveled from Pakistan into Afghanistan "for the purpose of taking up arms with the Taliban," eventually arriving at a Taliban recruiting center in Kabul, Afghanistan — the Dar ul-Anan Headquarters of the Mujahideen. Indictment, p. 7, ¶ 6. On his arrival, Lindh presented a letter of introduction from HUM and advised Taliban personnel "that he was an American and that he wanted to go to the front lines to fight." Indictment, p. 7, ¶ 7.

While at the Dar ul-Anan Headquarters, Lindh agreed to receive additional and extensive military training at an al Qaeda⁴ training camp. He made this decision "knowing that America and its citizens were the enemies of Bin Laden and al-Qaeda and that a principal purpose of al-Qaeda was to fight and kill Americans." Indictment, p. 7, ¶ 8. In late May or June 2001, Lindh traveled to a bin Laden guest house in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he stayed for several days, and then traveled to the al Farooq training camp, "an al Qaeda facility located several hours west of Kandahar." Indictment, p. 7 ¶ 10. He reported to the camp with approximately twenty other trainees, mostly Saudis, and remained there throughout June and July. During this period, he participated fully in the camp's training activities, despite being told early in his stay that "Bin Laden had sent forth some fifty people to carry out twenty suicide terrorist operations against the United States and Israel." Indictment, p. 7, ¶ 11. As part of his al Qaeda training, Lindh participated in "terrorist training courses in, among other things, weapons, orienteering, navigation, explosives and battlefield combat." Indictment, pp. 7-8, ¶ 12. This training included the use of "shoulder weapons, pistols and rocket-propelled grenades, and the construction of Molotov cocktails." Indictment, p. 8. ¶ 12. During his stay at al Farooq, Lindh met personally with bin Laden, "who thanked him and other trainees for taking part in jihad." Indictment, p. 8, ¶ 13. He also met with a senior al Qaeda official. Abu Mohammad Al-Masri, who inquired whether Lindh was interested in traveling outside Afghanistan to conduct operations against the United States and Israel. Lindh declined Al-Masri's offer in favor of going to the front lines to fight. It is specifically alleged that Lindh swore allegiance to jihad in June or July 2001.

When Lindh completed his training at al Farooq in July or August 2001, he traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was issued an AKM rifle "with a barrel suitable for long range shooting." Indictment, p. 8, ¶ 16. Armed with this rifle, Lindh, together with approximately 150 non-Afghani fighters, traveled from Kabul to the front line at Takhar, located in Northeastern Afghanistan, where the entire unit was placed under the command of an Iraqi named Abdul Hady. Lindh's group was eventually divided into smaller groups that fought in shifts against Northern Alliance troops in the Takhar trenches, rotating every one to two weeks. During this period, Lindh "carried various weapons with him, including the AKM rifle, an RPK rifle he was issued after the AKM rifle malfunctioned, and at least two grenades." Indictment, p. 8, ¶ 19. He remained with his fighting group following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, "despite having been told that Bin Laden had ordered the [September 11] attacks, that additional terrorist attacks were planned, and that additional al Qaeda personnel were being sent from the front lines to protect Bin Laden and defend against an anticipated military response from the United States." Indictment. p. 9, ¶ 20. Indeed, it is specifically alleged that Lindh remained with his fighting group from October to December 2001, "after learning that United States military forces and United States nationals had become directly engaged in support of the Northern Alliance in its military conflict with Taliban and al Qaeda forces." Indictment, p. 9, ¶ 21.

In November 2001, Lindh and his fighting group retreated from Takhar to the area of Kunduz, Afghanistan, where they ultimately surrendered to Northern Alliance troops. On November 24, 2001, he and the other captured Taliban fighters were transported to Mazar-e-Sharif, and then to the nearby Qala-i-Janghi (QIJ) prison compound. The following day, November 25, Lindh was interviewed by two Americans — Agent Johnny Micheal Spann from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and another government employee. Later that day, it is alleged that Taliban detainees in the QIJ compound attacked Spann and the other employee, overpowered the guards, and armed themselves. Spann was shot and killed in the course of the uprising and Lindh, after being wounded, retreated with other detainees to a basement area of the QIJ compound. The uprising at QIJ was eventually suppressed on December 1, 2001, at which time Lindh and other Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were taken into custody by Northern Alliance and American forces.

Following his capture, Lindh was interrogated, transported to the United States, and ultimately charged in this district with the following offenses in a ten-count Indictment:

(i) conspiracy to murder nationals of the United States, including American military personnel and other governmental employees serving in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2332(b)(2) (Count One);

(ii) conspiracy to provide material support and resources to HUM, a foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B (Count Two);

(iii) providing material support and resources to HUM, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B and 2 (Count Three);

(iv) conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, a foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B (Count Four);

(v) providing material support and resources to al Qaeda, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B and 2 (Count Five);

(vi) conspiracy to contribute services to al Qaeda, in violation of 31 §§ C.F.R. 595.205 and 595.204 and 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b) (Count Six);

(vii) contributing services to al Qaeda, in violation of 31 C.F.R. §§ 595.204 595.204 and 595.205 and 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Count Seven);

(viii) conspiracy to supply services to the Taliban, in violation of 31 C.F.R. §§ 545.206(b) and 545.204 and 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b) (Count Eight);

(ix) supplying services to the Taliban, in violation of 31 C.F.R. §§ 545.204 and 545.206(a) and 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Count Nine); and

(x) using and carrying firearms and destructive devices during crimes of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A), 924(c)(1)(B)(ii) and 2 (Count Ten).

At issue are the following seven threshold motions to dismiss or transfer filed by the defense:

(i) motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, to transfer venue based on pre-trial publicity;

(ii) motion to dismiss Count One for failure to state a violation of the charging statute;

(iii) motion to dismiss Counts Six, Seven, Eight and Nine as lacking statutory, authority;

(iv) motion to dismiss Counts Eight and Nine for selective prosecution;

(v) motion to dismiss Counts Two through Nine on freedom of association, overbreadth, and vagueness grounds;

(vi) motion to dismiss Counts Two, Three, Four and Five for failure to state a claim under the charging statute; and

(vii) motion to dismiss Count Ten on the ground that Lindh did not commit a crime of violence.

Each motion is separately addressed.

II.

Lindh requests dismissal of the Indictment on the ground that the media attention surrounding this case has been so prejudicial as to deprive him of his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. He alternatively requests a transfer of venue to the Northern District of California, the district in which he spent his childhood and where he claims the pre-trial publicity has not been as prejudicial as it has been in this district. Lindh also claims that the Northern District of California is more convenient for the parties and witnesses, pursuant to Rule 21(b), Fed.R.Crim.P.

The principles that govern resolution of this motion are clear and well settled. The Sixth Amendment guarantees that in all criminal...