Trevor Thomas Bickford.
A teenager accused of attacking three police officers with a machete near Times Square on New Year’s Eve is now facing federal terrorism charges after authorities allege he intended on waging a holy war against the U.S. government on behalf of Islam.
Trevor Thomas Bickford, 19, has been charged with federal crimes in connection with the alleged incident that happened around 10 p.m. near a security screening zone on West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, the Department of Justice announced in aJan. 10 news release.
The Wells, Maine resident had already been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of attempted assault, a New York Police Department spokesperson previously told PEOPLE.
Last summer, Bickford allegedly began studying radical Islamic ideology, prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint.
Some of those materials promoted the Taliban and “reflected the teachings of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, a prominent radical Islamic cleric who was a spiritual mentor of al Qaeda,” authorities said.
He allegedly told a family member that he wanted to travel to the Middle East so that he could be a suicide bomber for his religion, according to the complaint.
Bickford ultimately decided that he would not travel overseas, and instead carry out his “jihadist mission” in the U.S.
In December, he traveled from Maine to New York City for the New Year’s Eve attack, believing “all men of military age were his targets” and wanting to “kill as many of these targets as he could,” according to prosecutors.
He allegedly walked around Times Square “trying to figure out the right time to kill,” and was said to have recited verses from the Quran in his head to “hype himself up” for his attack, the release states.
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After the incident, authorities said they recovered two bags that contained books promoting Islamic extremism and a personal journal.
The man later claimed the attack was “unsuccessful” because he didn’t kill any officers and did not die himself, the release states.
In a statement issued on Jan. 4, the Legal Aid Society, a public defender organization representing Bickford, said, “For the time being, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the privacy of our client’s family.”
He is expected to appear in a Manhattan federal court at a later date.
source: people.com
