United States of America v. Benjamin Alan Carpenter, aka Abu Hamza

Date: 11-05-2025

Case Number: 21-CR-38

Judge: Katherine A. Crytzer

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Knox County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: United States District Attorney's Office in Knoxville

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Knoxville, Tennessee, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with providing translation and other services to a terrorist organization, ISIS, to permit its propaganda videos to be understood in English.

Benjamin Carpenter admired the work of ISIS, more formally known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. To that end, he founded Ahlud-Tawhid Publications (ATP), an organization that translated and published ISIS propaganda in a variety of languages. Carpenter translated ISIS materials into English and wrote original material for ATP. He also started an ATP group on the secure-messaging platform Telegram, where he sought and obtained assistance for his ATP projects.

An FBI covert agent obtained access to the ATP Telegram group. He reached out to Carpenter’s account about his translation projects. Over several months, Carpenter and the agent built a rapport. The agent would help Carpenter create graphics or facilitate conversations in the Telegram groups. They would discuss ISIS’s goals and ways in which ISIS could amplify its
message to the global community through translated videos and other propaganda. The agent portrayed himself as, and Carpenter understood him to be, affiliated with ISIS. The agent spoke on behalf of ISIS and described ISIS’s priorities from an insider’s perspective. On several occasions, Carpenter recommended to the agent which propaganda ISIS should translate into English, and the agent reported back to him after claiming to confer with ISIS leadership.

On February 1, 2021, the agent asked Carpenter to help him translate an ISIS propaganda video. He told Carpenter that the “diwan”—ISIS leadership—needed it. R.209 at 32. Carpenter reviewed the partially completed translation and told the agent it was “very good.” R.209 at 68. Carpenter sent the work to a “brother” “with ATP,” and returned the completed video transcript
to the agent. R.209 at 94, 97, 110–11. On February 17, the agent sent a second video transcript to Carpenter, one that Carpenter recommended ISIS prioritize. Carpenter replied to the agent’s new assignment with a “hugging sticker,” and reported that he sent the new transcript to the same ATP member to complete. R.209 at 114–15, 117. Federal authorities arrested Carpenter before he sent the second translation back to the agent.

The government charged Carpenter with one count of attempting to provide material
support or resources to a terrorist organization. See 18 U.S.C. § 2339B.

Outcome: After a five-day trial, the jury convicted Carpenter.

The district court sentenced him to 240 months.

Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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