United States v. Kobito, No. 19-4560 (4th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this CaseThe Fourth Circuit affirmed defendant's 60-month sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to knowingly possessing an unregistered silencer. The court concluded that defendant need not be convicted of a terrorism felony for USSG 3A1.4, an enhancement for committing a felony intended to promote terrorism, to apply. Therefore, the district court did not err by including the section 3A1.4 enhancement in defendant's Guidelines calculation. In this case, the district court did not clearly err by finding that defendant intended to promote the destruction of federal property when he named the Terry Sanford Federal Building as a target; defendant obtained (and suggested using) his unregistered silencers to facilitate those attacks, as established by the conversations recorded by the informant; and the district court relied on the "Patriots Against Tyrants" manifesto and defendant's statement that he would "disrupt the plans" of evil as evidence of his intent to influence by intimidation (or retaliate) against the government. The court also concluded that USSG 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), a sentencing enhancement for possessing a firearm with the intent that it be used in connection with another felony, has no impact on the length of defendant's sentence, rendering any alleged error as to its application harmless.
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