NEW YORK (AP) – A man accused of attacking police with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve now faces federal terrorism charges after becoming determined to launch a jihad against the U.S. government, authorities said Tuesday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Trevor Thomas Bickford has been charged with federal crimes in connection with his self-declared jihad against US government officials and the knife attacks on three Times Square police officers.
Bickford has already been charged with attempted murder of police officers, assault and attempted assault in Manhattan state court. If convicted, he faces a mandatory life sentence.
Prosecutors said Bickford shouted “Allahu akbar” around 10pm on New Year’s Day before punching an officer in the head and trying to grab another officer’s gun. He was shot in the shoulder by police during the standoff and is being held without bail after being arraigned on video from a Manhattan hospital.
The Legal Aid Society, a public advocacy organization representing Bickford, urged the public to “refrain from jumping to conclusions and respect the privacy of our client’s family.”
Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine, began studying radical Islamic ideology last summer, authorities said.
They said he decided in November to wage jihad against the US and other government officials he considered anti-Muslim.
He was charged with four counts of attempted murder of US government officials and employees and their caretakers. Each charge carries a potential sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. He was scheduled to appear in federal court at a later date.
A criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court alleged that Bickford told a family member in late November or early December that he wanted to go to Jordan or Afghanistan to be a suicide bomber for his religion and said he told a older brother, a soldier in the United States Army. , text messages in mid-December that he wanted to go to Afghanistan to join the Taliban.
He booked a ticket to fly to Jordan on Dec. 12 but did not board the flight, the complaint states.
A day later, according to the complaint, the FBI conducted a voluntary interview with him, in which Bickford said he had bought tickets to fly to New Delhi, India, several weeks earlier, planning to then go to Afghanistan. There, he hoped to “ally” with the Taliban and get them to help him fight oppression of Muslims in Myanmar, formerly Burma, the complaint said.
The complaint alleges that Bickford said he did not agree with the Taliban’s use of violence against civilians and had no intention of joining Al-Qaeda.
It was said that he started reading the Quran in May or June and going to mosques, but he found the mosques unsuitable, so he started watching imams on YouTube.
The FBI began investigating Bickford in mid-December, based in part on concerns raised by his family members about Bickford’s behavior, the complaint states.
Family members are said to have reported that Bickford recently converted to Islam and began attending mosques in Maine and New Hampshire, where Bickford lived with various family members.
They said he began researching the Taliban and expressed interest in traveling to Afghanistan to join the Taliban before purchasing a crossbow that he intended to take with him to Afghanistan, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Bickford eventually abandoned his November plans to travel abroad and instead decided he would wage jihad against the US government in the United States as part of his plan to “wage jihad against officials government officials they consider anti-Muslim. , including the United States government.”
As part of that effort, Bickford traveled from Maine to New York City for the Dec. 31 attack, the complaint states.
After the Times Square attack, Bickford revealed in an interview with law enforcement that he “carried out the attack for the purpose of waging jihad and that Bickford’s mission was to target military-aged men who were working for the US government and -they killed both of them by many. officials like him. it could,” the complaint said.
Bickford told law enforcement he walked around Times Square on Dec. 31 before his attack “trying to find the right moment to kill,” the complaint said. He added that he said he spent a lot of time praying in the Times Square area before the attack.
“Bickford intended to die in the attack in an attempt to achieve martyrdom,” the complaint states. “Bickford believed his attack failed because he did not kill any officers and did not die himself.”
I’m a passionate and motivated journalist with a focus on world news. My experience spans across various media outlets, including Buna Times where I serve as an author. Over the years, I have become well-versed in researching and reporting on global topics, ranging from international politics to current events.