Court Case

USA v. Al-Rayanni, Bilal

August 2019 (Updated August 23, 2022)
Helena-West Helena, AR
Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula

[DAR] Bilal Al-Rayanni, also known as Bilal Kassim Alawdi, a Yemeni national and resident of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, was charged in a two-count superseding indictment with providing and attempting to provide material support to Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and making a false statement in a passport application. Al-Rayanni was sentenced in August 2022 to 65 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release following imprisonment for providing material support to a terrorist organization.

Case Updates

2022-08-23 | Helena-West Helena Man Sentenced To More Than 5 Years In Prison For Providing Support To Terrorist Organization

Bilal Al-Rayanni has been sentenced to 65 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release following imprisonment for providing material support to a terrorist organization. Al-Rayanni, a naturalized citizen originally from Yemen, was sentenced in August 2022. In July 2014, Al-Rayanni traveled from the United States to Yemen to visit his family where he stayed until January 2015. While Al-Rayanni was in Yemen, a terrorist organization known as Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known as Ansar al-Sharira (AAS), began to sweep south from the capital of Sanaa in armed conflict with Houthi rebels. Al-Rayanni admitted to federal agents that while he was in Yemen that he drove a vehicle in an armed convoy as part of an AAS recruiting mission. Images from Al-Rayanni's time in Yemen include him with a dagger at his waist bearing the AAS emblem, images of him with the ISIS flag, and images of him in front of a convoy vehicle with an ammunition belt, two rifles, and an AK-47 automatic weapon resting against the vehicle. Al-Rayanni admitted to federal authorities that he drove an AAS recruiter from village to village to recruit fighters to oppose the Houthis.

Case Documents