CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court in Ohio has affirmed the convictions of a North Carolina man who was accused of trying to recruit people to conduct terrorist attacks in the name of the Islamic State group.
Authorities alleged that Erick Jamal Hendricks, arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2016, contacted people over social media trying to recruit them. A jury in Akron convicted him in 2018 on charges of conspiracy and attempt to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization., and he was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison.
Hendricks argued there was insufficient evidence and that the court abused its discretion by denying him a new trial and by partially closing the courtroom during testimony from an undercover FBI agent.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those arguments in a ruling Wednesday. A message was left with Hendricks' attorney seeking comment.
