(GoRealNewsNow.com) – A self-proclaimеd jihadist who attacked three New York Police Department (NYPD) officers with a foot-long machete in Times Square on New Year’s Eve in 2022 received a 27-year prison sentence.
According to prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Kevin Castel gave the sentence to 20-year-old Trevor Bickford in Manhattan federal court after he admitted guilt in January for slashing three officers during the annual celebration in Times Square.
As part of the sentence, Bickford will also be under lifetime supervision upon relеase.
If the judge decided on maximum consecutive sentences for all six counts he pleaded guilty to, Bickford could face a potential 120-year sentence.
Prosecutors claimed that days before the incident, Bickford travelеd from Maine to New York City armed with a machete, which intended to cause harm in the namе of Islamic jihad.
Launching his attack near West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, Bickford shouted “Allahu Akbar” — meaning God is great in Arabic — as he injured three officers, including fracturing one officer’s skull.
The rampage ended when one of the officers shot him in the shoulder. Fortunately, all officers survived.
According to federal authorities, following the assault, Bickford confessed that his aim was to target as many military-aged men as possible to become a martyr and inspire other Islamic extremists.
Moreover, his radicalization began in the summer of 2022 after exposure to Islamic and al Qaeda propaganda, while the FBI was alerted several weeks prior to the attack when Bickford’s mother informed local police about her son’s fixation with religion.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams praised the significance of the severe sentence in deterring potential terrorists.
“Bickford’s conviction and sentence demonstrate that cowardly acts of terrorism will be met with law enforcement’s unwavering resolve to protect New York City, our country, and our core values of freedom and democracy,” Williams stated.
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