G’bye, bomber
Life in jail for Port Authority tunnel attack
Port Authority bomber Akayed Ullah was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for his failed attempt to blow himself up during a hectic New York City morning rush hour.
The Bangladeshi immigrant detonated a pipe bomb strapped to his chest on Dec. 11, 2017, after becoming radicalized by ISIS propaganda and recruiting materials. He told police afterwards that he attempted the attack in a subway tunnel between Times Square and the crowded Port Authority bus terminal “for the Islamic State.”
“You purposely went to the most crowded station on the most crowded day,” Judge Richard Sullivan said in Manhattan Federal Court. He called Ullah’s attack “a calculated, premeditated decision in the name of an organization dedicated to spreading terror.”
“The sentence I impose today is more humane than the sentence you would have imposed on yourself,” the judge added.
The blast badly burned Ullah, 31. Three commuters were injured. One of them lost 70% of his hearing. Another woman lost her job because she was too terrified to commute to work. Both still struggle with trauma from the attack, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah Donaleski said. Authorities say it was a miracle no one was more seriously injured or killed.
Ullah, an electrician, built the explosive using ground matchheads, broken Christmas lights and components from a construction site. He packed screws into the bomb, he later told authorities, to inflict maximum damage.
Ullah had faced a mandatory minimum of 35 years for six terror-related crimes. He was found guilty at trial in November 2018.
“Ullah’s motive was clear and unambiguous: a deeply held ideological hatred for America,”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said. “Akayed Ullah’s message of hatred clearly backfired; his just sentence of life in prison only exemplifies that cowardly acts of terrorism will be met with law enforcement’s unwavering resolve to protect our core values of freedom and democracy.”
After proclaiming his allegiance to ISIS in the immediate aftermath of the attack, Ullah reversed himself, denying any fealty to the terrorist network. The botched suicide bombing, he said, was instead a statement against President Donald Trump and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
“What I did on Dec. 11, it was wrong. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart I am deeply sorry for what I did,” Ullah said. “I do not condone violence on (the) belief of those who are ... killing, terrorizing. They are evil.”
Ullah’s mother quietly wiped away tears during the sentencing. Sullivan said Ullah’s family were also victims of his terrorist plot and deserved no blame.
Federal Defender Amy Gallicchio argued Ullah was “a deeply troubled soul” who went into a downward spiral following his father’s death in 2012. Ullah saw firsthand the suffering of Muslim refugees in Myanmar and experienced Islamophobia in the United States, she said. He lived in Brooklyn with family, supporting a wife and son in Bangladesh. His son is now 3 years old.
“His search for answers and meaning took him down a terrible path,” Gallicchio said.
Ullah’s sentencing was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and took place in a courtroom rearranged for social distancing.
“Your conduct here was truly heinous,” Sullivan said. “This is about a serious a crime as there is.”