United States v. Tounisi

Tounisi decided to join Jabhat al-Nusrah in Syria after learning about its violent operations and its links to al-Qaida. His parents attempted to stop him by taking away his passport. Tounisi applied for an expedited passport, reporting that his passport was lost and he intended to travel to Jordan. He visited a purported Jabhat al-Nusrah recruitment website and emailed the listed contact person, actually an FBI agent, about his travel strategy, stating that he would seize the opportunity to attain martyrdom. Tounisi, then 18 years old, bought a ticket for a flight to Istanbul. The “recruiter” sent him a bus ticket to Gaziantep and promised that “brothers” would be waiting to take him to a training camp in Syria. Tounisi responded by describing what he would be wearing. At O’Hare Airport, federal agents questioned and arrested him for knowingly attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, 18 U.S.C. 2339B(a)(1), and making false statements in connection with an offense involving international terrorism, section 1001(a)(2). He pleaded guilty to the first charge in exchange for dismissal of the second and was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that the judge did not sufficiently address Tounisi’s mitigating arguments or adequately explain the length of imprisonment or supervised relief and failed to properly consider the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors. View "United States v. Tounisi" on Justia Law