Nov. 6 (UPI) — A man charged with exploding a pipe bomb in a passageway between two New York City subway stops was found guilty of all charges Tuesday.
Akayed Ullah, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, was charged with detonating and attempting to detonate a bomb in a subway station near the Port Authority Bus Terminal on December 11, 2017.
“I was angry with Donald Trump because he said he will bomb the Middle East and protect his nation,” Ullah said, according to the New York Daily News.
Ullah, an electrician who lived in Brooklyn, contended he only wanted to kill himself during the bombing. Instead, it send 29 people to the hospital.
Ullah could face a maximum life sentence in prison.
Ullah’s lawyers said he was not a follower of the Islamic State, rather a suicidal man angered by U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
“I didn’t do [it] for ISIS group,” Akayed Ullah said in Manhattan Federal Court after the jury had been excused.
Prosecutors accused Ullah of acting out propaganda from the Islamic State that encourages sympathizers who are unable to join the group to carry out terrorist attacks against the U.S. and Europe. They said he choose the passageway near the heavily trafficked bus terminal to deliver the most possible injuries.
Prosecutors also pointed to Ullah’s online activity as proof of his terrorist leanings. They included his viewing of online terrorist propaganda and his own social media posts before the attack, which read “Oh America die in your rage” and “Oh Trump, you fail to protect your nation.”
“Ullah’s sinister purpose was to harm and terrorize as many innocent people in his path as possible, by using deadly violence to make a political statement. Ullah’s conviction by a unanimous jury of New Yorkers falls on an Election Day, which fittingly underscores the core principles of American democracy and spirit: Americans engage in the political process through votes, not violence. Today, Ullah stands convicted, he faces a potential life sentence, and his purpose failed. New York City remains a shining symbol of freedom and hope,” said Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney in a statement ABC News reports.
