This opinion discusses the making of a terrorist. By the United States.
That said, I think that Judge Owens seems spot on. The jury rejected his entrapment defense, and that's a very high barrier to reversal. The opinion concludes:
"Many young people think and say alarming things that
they later disavow, and we will never know if Mohamud—a
young man with promise—would have carried out a mass
attack absent the FBI’s involvement. But some “promising”
young people—Charles Whitman, Timothy McVeigh, and
James Holmes, to name a few from a tragically long
list—take the next step, leading to horrific consequences.
While technology makes it easier to capture the thoughts of
these individuals, it also makes it easier for them to commit
terrible crimes. Here, the evidence supported the jury’s
verdict, and the government’s surveillance, investigation, and
prosecution of Mohamud were consistent with constitutional
and statutory requirements."
Tragically long indeed.
