Opinion ID: 3037382
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Vo’s Offense

Text: Vo, a naturalized United States citizen who was born in Vietnam, came to the United States in 1980 to escape the regime in his home country. Vo belongs to the Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), based in Garden Grove, California, 5516 VO v. BENOV which Vo asserts is “an organization deemed a terrorist entity by both Vietnam and the United States.” The stated purpose of the GFVN is to “[d]ismantle the Communist dictatorship of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam by a peaceful, practical and persistent approach.” Although the GFVN insists that its activities are peaceful, its members have been linked to several incidents of terrorism in Vietnam and elsewhere. In 2001, Vo visited Thailand. Between June 15, 2001 and June 19, 2001, Vo and an accomplice jointly devised a plan to plant explosives at the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok. Early in the morning of June 19, the anniversary of the formation of the South Vietnamese Army, Vo and his accomplice met and, carrying two bags and one backpack, took a taxi to the embassy. On the way, Vo took one bag and separated from the accomplice, but instructed the accomplice to take the remaining packages — which contained ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel, the explosive mixture known as ANFO that was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing — and implement their plan to bomb the embassy. At around 4 a.m., Vo’s accomplice arrived at the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok with the two packages. He placed one, a box containing approximately three kilograms of ANFO, just outside the perimeter wall of the embassy, and threw the other, a backpack containing approximately five kilograms of the material, over the wall. The bombs included cell phones that were wired to function as triggers when called. Subsequent investigation showed that Vo’s accomplice called the cell phones connected to the bombs after he delivered them to the embassy, but that the bombs failed to detonate. Vo flew to Los Angeles later that day. Shortly after the attempted bombing, Thai police arrested Vo’s accomplice, Phan Nguyen Thanh Si. In a statement to police investigators, Si implicated Vo as the organizer of the crime. Si’s confession also associated the GFVN with the bombing attempt. Further police investigation revealed that Vo’s latent fingerprints were on some papers inside one of the VO v. BENOV 5517 packages, and that Si and Vo had been seen buying the cellular phones that were found connected to the bombs. Although Vo does not deny being involved in the bombing plot, there is some dispute over whether he intended the bombs to explode. Vo claims that he decided at the last minute not to detonate the explosives, and, to that end, he had ensured that the detonators were removed and that the ignition match and the gunpowder were wet. He contends that he arranged for the planting of the bombs at the embassy only so that “the repressive Communist government of Vietnam would be sent a message they would understand.” However, Si’s confession states that Vo told him “to ignite” the bombs, and Thai forensic examiners determined that the bombs were still capable of going off at the time they were found. It is undisputed that had the bombs exploded, they were powerful enough to kill or injure people within a 10-15 meter (approximately 33-39 feet) radius.