sa国际传媒官网网页入口

The actions of four people on trial for kidnapping and terrorism charges became a federal crime when the group crossed state lines to conceal the whereabouts of a 3-year-old boy later found dead in a raid on their compound near Taos in 2018, prosecutors told jurors Thursday in closing arguments.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberations Friday in U.S. District Court in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Jury selection began Sept. 25 before Chief U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson. The trial is in its third week.

The group, including three siblings and a brother-in-law, hurriedly packed up their belongings in Atlanta on Dec. 5, 2017, and fled Georgia, driving first to Alabama, then to New Mexico, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley Brawley told jurors.

The four knew that abducting the boy, Abdul Ghani Wahhaj, was wrong and put the severely-ill boy鈥檚 life in danger, Brawley said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why they hid, that鈥檚 why they ran, that鈥檚 why they lied,鈥� she told jurors.

The compound was raided in August 2018 by law enforcement officers searching for 3-year-old Abdul Ghani, who was reported missing eight months earlier by the boy鈥檚 mother in Georgia.

Authorities found five adults and 11 children at the compound. Abdul Ghani鈥檚 decomposed remains were found in a 100-foot tunnel at the site.

Prosecutors allege the group kidnapped and transported Abdul Ghani to New Mexico, motivated by a belief he would be resurrected as 鈥淚sa,鈥� a messiah who would lead an army against 鈥渃orrupt institutions,鈥� including government and law enforcement targets.

Abdul Ghani, who suffered severe health problems and seizures resulting from a complication at his birth, died in New Mexico on Dec. 24, 2017. Prosecutors allege the boy died while his father was performing a dangerous exorcism ritual on the boy.

鈥淚t was completely foreseeable that Abdul Ghani would die鈥� if denied anti-seizure medication and subjected to hours of rigorous rituals, Brawley told jurors.

The boy鈥檚 father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 45, Siraj鈥檚 sisters Hujrah Wahhaj, 42, and Subhanah Wahhaj, 30, and Subhanah鈥檚 husband, Lucas Morton, 45, all were indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2019 on charges including providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to murder an officer or employee of the United States, and other charges.

Prosecutors allege the group organized firearm training at the compound that increased in intensity with the approach of Easter 2018 鈥� the predicted day of Abdul Ghani鈥檚 resurrection.

Hujrah and Subhanah Wahhaj and Morton were also charged with kidnapping resulting in the death of Abdul Ghani. The boy鈥檚 father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, was not charged with kidnapping because federal law prohibits a parent from being so charged.

An attorney representing Subhanah Wahhaj told jurors that his client was 鈥渋n survival mode鈥� while living at the compound and trying to care for her four children under difficult conditions.

鈥淪ubhanah鈥檚 involvement was not criminal,鈥� sa国际传媒官网网页入口 attorney Ryan Villa told jurors. The woman attempted to escape and was punished for it by her family, he said. 鈥淗er fantasy was not to be there. She dreamed of getting out of there.鈥�

Morton, Subhanah鈥檚 husband, controlled her finances and made all her decisions, essentially keeping her captive at the compound, Villa said in closing arguments.

Marshall Ray, an attorney for Hujruh Wahhaj, also argued that his client鈥檚 presence at the compound doesn鈥檛 provide proof that the woman participated in a conspiracy to wage war against the government.

鈥淲hat did Hujrah add to the actions that went on here?鈥� Ray said in closing argument. 鈥淪he added nothing.鈥�

A fifth co-defendant, Jany Laveille, a 40-year-old Haitian national, pleaded guilty in February to a federal firearms charge and conspiracy charge and faces 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege that the family came under the spell of Laveille, who wrote a book predicting Abdul Ghani鈥檚 return as a messiah.

Assistant District Attorney George Kraehe told jurors that the group 鈥渨ere a danger鈥� and dismissed the idea that Subhanah and Wahaj could do nothing to alert their large, extended family to their whereabouts.

鈥淭hey continued to run from the law and hide from the law for eight months鈥� from December 2017 to August 2018, Kraehe told jurors. 鈥淭hey had every opportunity鈥� to take action, he said. 鈥淭hey had the support they needed.鈥�