NEW YORK (AP) — A person accused of attacking police with a machete close to New York’s Occasions Sq. on New 12 months’s Eve is now dealing with federal terrorism fees after he turned into decided to salary jihad towards the U.S. executive, government introduced Tuesday.
Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland mentioned in a commentary that Trevor Thomas Bickford used to be charged with federal crimes in connection along with his self-avowed jidad towards U.S. executive officers and his knife assault on 3 cops in Occasions Sq..
Bickford used to be already charged with making an attempt to homicide cops, attack and tried attack in state court docket in Ny. If convicted, he faces a compulsory existence sentence.
State prosecutors have mentioned Bickford shouted “Allahu akbar” at about 10 p.m. on New 12 months’s Eve ahead of placing one officer within the head and making an attempt to snatch some other officer’s gun. He used to be shot within the shoulder through police all over the disagreement and used to be held with out bail after he used to be arraigned through video from a Ny health center.
The Felony Support Society, a public defender group representing Bickford, has steered the general public “to chorus from drawing hasty conclusions and to admire the privateness of our consumer’s circle of relatives.”
Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine, started learning radical Islamic ideology final summer season, government mentioned.
They mentioned he determined in November to salary jihad towards U.S. officers and officers of alternative governments he regarded as anti-Muslim.
He used to be charged with 4 counts of tried homicide of officials and workers of the U.S. executive and folks helping them. Every fee carries a possible penalty of twenty years in jail in match of a conviction. He used to be anticipated to seem in federal court docket at a later date.
A prison criticism in Ny federal court docket mentioned Bickford instructed a circle of relatives member in overdue November or early December that he sought after to visit Jordan or Afghanistan to be a suicide bomber for his faith, and he instructed an older brother, a soldier within the U.S. navy, in textual content messages in mid-December that he sought after to visit Afghanistan to sign up for the Taliban.
He booked a price ticket to fly to Jordan on Dec. 12 however didn’t board the flight, the criticism mentioned.
An afternoon later, in keeping with the criticism, the FBI performed a voluntary interview with him wherein Bickford mentioned he had purchased tickets to fly to New Delhi, India, a number of weeks previous, making plans to then cross directly to Afghanistan. There he was hoping to “best friend” with the Taliban and convince them to assist him combat the oppression of Muslims in Myanmar, previously Burma, the criticism added.
The criticism mentioned Bickford claimed he didn’t accept as true with the Taliban’s use of violence towards civilians and had no purpose of becoming a member of al-Qaida.
It mentioned he started studying the Quran in Might or June and attending mosques, however he didn’t suppose the mosques had been ok, so he started following imams on YouTube.
The FBI started investigating Bickford in mid-December based totally partially on considerations that individuals of his circle of relatives expressed about Bickford’s conduct, the criticism mentioned.
It mentioned members of the family reported that Bickford had just lately transformed to Islam and begun frequenting mosques in and round Maine and New Hampshire, the place Bickford lived with other members of the family.
They reported that he additionally started researching the Taliban and expressed hobby in touring to Afghanistan to sign up for the Taliban ahead of purchasing a crossbow that he deliberate to carry with him to Afghanistan, the criticism mentioned.
In keeping with the criticism, Bickford in the end scrapped his November plans to trip in a foreign country and as a substitute determined he’d salary jihad towards the U.S. executive inside of the US as a part of his plan to “salary jihad towards officers of governments that he believes are anti-Muslim, together with the U.S. Govt.”
As a part of that effort, Bickford traveled from Maine to New York Town for the Dec. 31 assault, the criticism mentioned.
After the Occasions Sq. assault, Bickford disclosed in a regulation enforcement interview that he “performed the assault for the aim of waging jihad and that Bickford’s undertaking concerned focused on military-aged males who labored for the U.S. Govt and killing as many such officers as he may just,” the criticism mentioned.
Bickford instructed regulation enforcement that he walked round Occasions Sq. on Dec. 31 previous to his assault “attempting to determine the appropriate time to kill,” the criticism mentioned. It added that he mentioned he spent an extended time period praying within the neighborhood of Occasions Sq. ahead of the assault.
“Bickford supposed to die within the assault, so as to reach martyrdom,” the criticism mentioned. “Bickford believed his assault used to be unsuccessful, as a result of he didn’t kill any officials, and he didn’t die himself.”