New York Post

Faces life for attacks in NY and NJ

- By KAJA WHITEHOUSE and EMILY SAUL

A homegrown Islamic terrorist was convicted Monday of detonating do-it-yourself time bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey last year — setting him up for a mandatory sentence of life in a federal prison.

A Manhattan federal jury found Ahmad Khan Rahimi, 29, guilty as charged on eight counts following a two-week trial over the twin blasts in Chelsea and in Seaside Park, NJ, on Sept. 17, 2016.

“Rahimi’s crimes of hate have been met with swift and resolute justice,” acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim said in a prepared statement.

“Today’s verdict is a victory for New York City, a victory for America in its fight against terror, and a victory for all who believe in the cause of justice.”

The feds alleged that Rahimi’s Internet searches and writing found in notebooks he kept showed he was obsessed with Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and ISIS, but the Elizabeth, NJ, resident — who immigrated from Afghanista­n at age 7 — wasn’t accused of formal ties to any terrorist groups.

The fiend remained composed as he heard the verdict against him, which followed less than four hours of deliberati­ons over two days, and tried in vain to make eye contact with members of the eight-man, four-woman jury.

He then chatted and chuckled with his defense lawyer as Judge Richard Berman met in the jury room with the panel.

Laughter from the group was heard through the door in the courtroom.

As he left the courtroom, the jury’s foreman said, “It’s never easy to be part of something like this.”

Berman scheduled sentencing for Jan. 18. Rahimi has been jailed without bond since his arrest following a bloody shootout with cops in Linden, NJ.

Defense lawyer Sabrina Shroff said she would seek a sentence of less than life on counts 1 through 6, on hopes that an appeals court overturns the remaining counts, which carry mandatory life sentences.

No one was injured by Rahimi’s first blast — in Seaside Park — because the bomb exploded ahead of a charity race that had been delayed.

But the pressure-cooker bomb he later planted on West 23rd Street injured dozens of people and caused millions of dollars in property damage.

A third device, left on West 27th Street, didn’t go off — and Rahimi’s lawyer last week threw the prosecutio­n for a loop when she told the jury it was because Rahimi got cold feet after hearing the blast on West 23rd Street.

In a bid to reduce Rahimi’s chance of spending the rest of his life in prison, she asked the jury to acquit him of three counts tied to the unexploded device.

The feds tied Rahimi to the attacks through purchases he made at Home Depot and on eBay for parts used to make the bombs, as well as through fingerprin­t and DNA evidence.

Victims of the West 23rd Street bombing offered dramatic testimony, with Chelsea resident Cort Cheek describing a “double boom” so loud “it was like the end of the world.”

The feds also played dozens of damning surveillan­ce videos that showed Rahimi walking around Manhattan while pulling a pair of roller suitcases, each of which contained a homemade bomb.

 ??  ?? JUSTICE: Ahmad Khan Rahimi was convicted Monday after a trial displaying the terror (left) and damage (below) caused by his bombs in Chelsea.
JUSTICE: Ahmad Khan Rahimi was convicted Monday after a trial displaying the terror (left) and damage (below) caused by his bombs in Chelsea.
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