Overview
- A unanimous three‑judge panel—Judges James Wynn, Stephanie Thacker, and Pamela Harris—held that al‑Timimi’s statements were protected speech under the Brandenburg standard.
- The decision tosses a 2005 Alexandria jury verdict that included Neutrality Act violations, soliciting treason, and firearms counts.
- The court said his words were inflammatory and offensive but urged no concrete criminal plan and offered no operational assistance.
- Al‑Timimi, an Islamic lecturer from northern Virginia, had been serving a 15‑years‑to‑life sentence stemming from the case.
- Prosecutors had argued he encouraged travel to Pakistan to train with Lashkar‑e‑Taiba to fight U.S. forces in Afghanistan.