Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Mohammad Waqas Khan

Case No.: 18-2612

Officials: BAUER, MANION, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

Digital platforms unleash instant and limitless capabilities; at the tap of a finger, one can touch the world. That power and freedom enables many noble pursuits. But, as this case shows, underneath the promise of modern connectivity can lurk a dark side.

Over a seven‐week span, Mohammad Khan used Face‐ book and his job as an Uber driver to threaten and prepare for mass murder. He posted messages threatening to “kill,” “shoot,” “hunt,” “murder,” and “put bullets in” his “targets.” Khan’s “targets” included “college student[s],” “vulnerable individuals,” people “walking their dogs,” “high net worth individual[s],” and “witnesses” that “get [in] the way.” He aimed for “a real human tragedy” and “claim[ed] the loop area of Chicago to the Northern Lincoln Park area” as his “free kill zone.” Worse, Khan planned to “purchase a [G]o[P]ro camera, strap it to [his] chest or forehead, record the killings, and upload them onto Facebook for everyone around the world to see the grisly footage of death.”

Khan also drove for Uber. He posted messages about “dry run[s]” and carrying a loaded gun during shifts to prepare for “necessary murders”—in fact, several of his threatening posts occurred immediately before and after driving passengers. To add credence to his threats, Khan boasted his “mental fortitude to pull it off,” posted photos of himself holding the guns he would use, and “sw[ore] to Allah and everything I hold dear that I will resort to murder in the next 30 days.” That thirty‐day deadline corresponded with the date Khan was to fly to Pakistan.

Khan used Facebook to draw the public into his world; instead he drew the attention of the FBI. His words and actions resulted in an indictment for making interstate threats to in‐ jure others, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). At trial, Khan claimed his statements were not “true threats.” A jury disagreed and convicted him.  Khan challenges his conviction, arguing that the government’s indictment and evidence against him were insufficient. He also challenges the jury instructions for the § 875(c) charge and the district court’s refusal to suppress all evidence leading to his arrest. Neither challenge is persuasive, so we affirm.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.