Opinion ID: 3064442
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nexus to Interstate or Foreign Commerce

Text: Renteria contends that the synagogue’s operation, by itself, could not possibly fulfill the commercial jurisdictional element of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i), and the ancillary functions of the gift shop and the preschool cannot bring the synagogue’s religious operations within § 844(i)’s commercial activity requirement. [10] Although not addressed in this circuit, see Lamont, 330 F.3d at 1255, the Tenth, Sixth, and Fourth Circuits have held that certain religious buildings have fallen within the commercial activity requirement of § 844(i) through ancillary activities such as daycare, radio stations, and gift shops. United States v. Gillespie, 452 F.3d 1183 (10th Cir. 2006); United States v. Rayborn, 312 F.3d 229 (6th Cir. 2002); United States v. Terry, 257 F.3d 366 (4th Cir. 2001). Gillespie from the Tenth Circuit is directly on point on this issue. That case involved the fire-bombing of the outside door alcove of a Jewish synagogue in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). Gillespie, 452 F.3d at 1185. On appeal following his conviction, Gillespie argued that insufficient evidence was introduced to support the jury’s conclusion that the synagogue was a building used in or affecting an activity in interstate commerce within the meaning of § 844(i). Id. at 1186. The court recognized that the synagogue operated as a place of worship, but that it had additional functions, including the operation of a preschool and a gift shop. Id. at 1188. These additional functions constituted commercial use such that the function of the building affected interstate commerce. Id.; see also U. S. v. Terry, 257 F.3d at 369-70. UNITED STATES v. RENTERIA 2033 [11] Viewing the evidence in the present case concerning the operation of the gift shop and the preschool daycare center in the light most favorable to the government, a rational trier of fact could have found that these commercial uses were not passive, passing, or past connections to commerce and that the synagogue was used for interstate or foreign commercial purposes in addition to religious purposes. The evidence presented was sufficient to support Renteria’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). AFFIRMED.