‘Maxdamage’plot
Feds: ISIS fan took bomb to PA to boost carnage
Armed with a pipe bomb and angry at America, a Bangladeshi Brooklynite attempted to blow himself up in a passageway to the Port Authority in an attempt to “inflict maximum damage” as ISIS instructed, a prosecutor said Monday during closing remarks to a jury in Manhattan Federal Court.
Akayed Ullah, 28, faces life in prison for the botched bombing on Dec. 11 of last year.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Turner recounted the evidence against the accused ISIS sympathizer before the jury began deliberations.
“‘Oh America, die in your rage.’ That’s what the defendant wrote before he did it. Before he detonated a bomb in the heart of New York City,” Turner said.
“He was proud to attack this city in the name of ISIS. And now he must be held responsible. That will be justice.”
Ullah (photo) injured himself in the blast during the morning rush in an underground passageway to the bus terminal, but, miraculously, no one died.
Turner pointed to Ullah’s own statements to authorities about how he made the pipe bomb, ISIS propaganda on his laptop and statements he made on social media including, “Oh Trump, you fail to protect your nation.” “He never thought he’d be sitting here in the courtroom charged for crimes in his attack,” Turner said.
Ullah’s attorney, Amy Gallicchio, argued that Ullah was no ISIS soldier, meaning he could not be guilty of providing material support to a terrorist organization. She asked the jury to only convict Ullah of one count of destruction of property using an explosive, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. “He wanted to make a statement — a public statement, by taking his own life,” Gallicchio said. “This is not a suicide bombing. This is not a terrorist attack. This act is not about ISIS.” She argued that Ullah was disturbed by American foreign policy in the Middle East and “misguided.”
“Mr. Ullah was a mentally unstable man who, unlike the rest of us, could not turn off the noise in his head,” Gallicchio said.
Prosecutors countered that Ullah rode the A train from Brooklyn to the Port Authority passing up numerous chances to detonate his device before arriving at the city’s busiest subway station. “He wanted to inflict maximum damage to terrorize Americans,” Turner said.