Authorities believe that a teenager who attacked three police officers with a machete on New Year’s Eve near Times Square planned to wage a holy war against the United States government in the name of Islam.A federal grand jury has indicted the teen on terrorist charges.
The Department of Justice said on January 10 that 19-year-old Trevor Thomas Bickford has been charged with federal crimes in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred at 10 p.m. on the corner of West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, close to a checkpoint.
A New York Police Department official earlier told PEOPLE that the man from Wells, Maine has been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two charges of attempted assault.
More Than A Dozen State Charges Are Pending Against Bickford For The New Year’s Eve Incident.
Quare, after he allegedly attacked three NYPD officers outside the security area set up for New Year’s Eve celebrations on West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue with an 18-inch kukri dagger.
The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, issued a statement reading in part: “All eyes are on Times Square on New Year’s Eve and these charges reflect the seriousness of this alleged threat to the safety of our city and our cops.”
The district attorney’s office has set February 1 as the day of the suspect’s official arraignment. A senior police officer told ABC News that Bickford, a resident of Wells, Maine, committed a terrorist act presumably inspired by Islamic extremism.
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His Statement
Bickford allegedly informed officers, “I wanted to kill an officer in uniform,” as stated in the criminal complaint. I was able to spot the police officer and patiently wait for him to be alone. My words were “Allahu Akbar.”
Close enough for me to whack him upside the head with my kukri. I made a run for the gun of another police officer, but dropped my knife in the process.
Lawyers for Bickford were initially silent when asked about the charges against their client. His bail has been set at this time.
Attack Against U.S. Government Personnel Motivated By Jihadist Ideology
U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland announced the charges, saying, “We allege that the defendant plotted a jihad-inspired attack targetingUnited States government officials and on December 31, 2022.
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Assaulted three New York Police Department officers who were working as part of a federal-state effort to secure the New Year’s Eve festivities in Times Square.
Reuters attempted to reach Bickford’s lawyers at the Legal Aid Society on Tuesday night but was unsuccessful.
The 19-year-old is accused of stabbing three police officers with a machete just before midnight on December 31 outside of a guarded area set up for New Year’s Eve celebrations. He had previously pondered heading to Afghanistan to affiliate himself with the Taliban, according to prosecutors.
Bickford was shot in the shoulder by police, but all three cops managed to save their lives, and they eventually arrested Bickford.
After Bickford’s mother expressed fear that her son was getting radicalized, FBI agents allegedly interviewed him in December. The agents blacklisted him to keep him from leaving the country.
Following The Occurrence,
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Authorities reported finding a personal notebook and publications advocating for Islamic extremism in one of the bags that was seized after the incident.
In a journal post dated December 31st, Bickford allegedly wrote, “this will likely be my last entry.” The release claims that Bickford meant to die in the attack.
Additionally, he was accused by authorities of thinking his brother, a member of the United States armed forces, had “entered the ranks of my adversary.”
According to the announcement, the individual afterwards claimed the attempt was “unsuccessful” because he didn’t murder any police and survived.
The Legal Aid Society, which is acting as Bickford’s public defender, published a statement on January 4 in which they asked the public to “refrain from drawing premature judgments and to protect the privacy of our client’s family.”
