Knoxville man accused of trying to help ISIS terrorists says his actions are protected under freedom of speech – WBIR.com

In a low-resolution video interview from the Knox County Jail, Benjamin Carpenter said he plans to beat the charges at his federal trial this summer.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. A Knoxville man accused of trying to help ISIS terrorists said he plans to argue his actions are protected under the First Amendment when he represents himself in a federal court trial this summer, he told 10News.

In a series of interviews from the Knox County Jail, Benjamin Carpenter, 31, said he has no regrets and does not consider himself a terrorist though he does admit support for the Islamic State terrorist group, which has claimed responsibility for shootings, bombings and beheadings.

"I have no qualms of being described as pro-Islamic State," he said. "Because we share the same kind of methodology and outlook."

In March 2021, federal agents arrested Carpenter while he was working as a dog-walker. Prosecutors said he agreed to assist an undercover FBI agent to transcribe and translate a 25-minute ISIS video titled "Bleeding Campaigns."

The video "documents ISISs military operations against Egyptian troops, including ISIS fighters engaging in battle, executing a suicide bombing, and capturing and executing three individuals," court documents showed.

He faces charges that the translation was an attempt to provide material assistance to the terror group.

"It's simply not a crime what they're accusing me of," Carpenter said.

He said he helped run a pro-ISIS website and regularly translated material for it. "Its similar to what weve done previously," he said of the Bleeding Campaigns video. "The Islamic state would release something in Arabic and I would find it beneficial and I would translate it."

"[The website's] stated goal was to spread the Islamic creed, a methodology, and not watering that down for anybody," Carpenter said. "And if that happens to support individuals overseas so be it."

While Carpenter's views may be repugnant to many people's beliefs in East Tennessee, translating the video isn't a crime said defense attorney T. Scott Jones.

"Its a question of whether or not you materially assisted a terrorist organization and thats going to be a question for the judge and ultimately one for the jury to decide," said Jones, who is not connected with the case. "Unless he did some overt act other than just translating, I think the government is going to have a hard row to hoe, so to speak."

But a former federal prosecutor who reviewed the case said there's likely more to the charges that have not yet been unsealed or declassified. Speaking on background because he did not have inside knowledge of the case, he said the U.S. Attorney's Office rarely brings cases unless prosecutors are confident they can win.

"God Molded Me Into What I am Today"

Carpenter attended Bearden Middle School and West High School, before moving to Myrtle Beach his senior year, he said. He wasn't raised as a practicing Muslim. Later in life, he converted and began to subscribe to radical philosophies.

"I was kind of molded over a series of events and learning and gaining knowledge," he said. "Eventually God just molded me into what I am today."

By May 2015 he was on the FBI's radar and agents searched his home in Virginia, where Carpenter lived with a girlfriend and worked as a bread baker, court documents reveal.

At the time, he told FBI agents he believed the attacks on Sept. 11 were justified and, in 2016, said U.S. citizens should "expect to be victims of an attack," prosecutors said.

Since then, Carpenter said he's been prepared for federal authorities to arrest him.

"I kind of knew that the government would try to snag me at some point," he said. "They've been trying to get me since 2015."

He moved back to East Tennessee around 2-and-a -half years before his arrest, his mother, Denise Carpenter, told a federal judge. She assured the court in spring 2021 she would make sure Carpenter followed release rules and showed up for future appearances if allowed out of jail while he waited for a trial.

She testified he does not have a bank account and worked only 10 hours per week at a pet sitting service.

Prosecutors said Carpenter used his mother's University of Tennessee issued computer to write a blog post for the pro-ISIS website they allege he operated.

Federal magistrate judge Debra Poplin denied the requestto release him, citing a "gave danger to both the local and international communities."

"His faith in Islam and trust in God keeps him humble and give him strength to be willing and able to see and give his best in his current circumstance," Denise Carpenter wrote in a text to 10News. "Would he rather he have his freedom? Of course, as would his family, who misses him greatly."

Federal prosecutors said Carpenter grew "more and more prolific" after his 2015 run-ins with the FBI.

Prosecutors submitted more than two dozen exhibits to the court including videos, articles on beheadings and weapons of mass destruction, accusing Carpenter of "Jihad with a pen."

"I'm a regular person, not violent per se," Carpenter told 10News. He denied ever planning or participating in violence. "If I did, the government would surely know about it."

Still, he said he supported most violence perpetrated by the Islamic State.

"Some you would disagree with," he said. "Just like an American would disagree with some attacks, but they would maybe agree with the certain war that goes on."

In court transcripts, prosecutors said Carpenter talked with other ISIS sympathizers online and praised the Nashville Christmas Day bombing. When asked by 10News, he expressed support for the 9/11 attacks.

"They're definitely justified," Carpenter said.

Beaten back by international militaries, East Tennessee State University Terrorism Scholar Paul Kamolnick said ISIS relies on supporters like Carpenter to survive and spread their ideologies.

"What theyve been reduced to is basically a strategy of individualized terrorism," he said, saying they rely on the internet and online translations to spread propaganda. "That's the only way they reach audiences."

"God willing, I'll be found not guilty"

Prosecutors put it more bluntly; "The defendant supports ISIS-inspired violence, praises ISIS-inspired violence and believes violence is justified in furtherance of jihad," they wrote in court documents.

But Carpenter believes the U.S. Constitution protects him under the first amendment, guaranteeing him freedom of speech. He said he's been preparing for years to represent himself, expecting he would get arrested.

In handwritten federal court filings, he argues his conduct translating documents doesn't rise to the level of "material support" for ISIS. He argues that the court needs to take into consideration the alleged conduct of the act of terrorism.

"The alleged conduct [...] revolves around editing a translation clearly not what an ordinary person thinks of when 'a federal crime of terrorism' comes to mind," he wrote.

"God willing, and with his permission, [the case] will be dismissed and thrown out. If it makes it to trial, God willing Ill be found not guilty," Carpenter told 10News.

He said he's not worried if he is found guilty and sentenced to the maximum possible penalty 20 years in federal prison.

"I can worship God inside a jail or outside a jail. If God wills for me to be in jail, he wills for me to be in jail," he said.

Carpenter's case is scheduled for a jury trial in late August.

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Knoxville man accused of trying to help ISIS terrorists says his actions are protected under freedom of speech - WBIR.com