Trevor Bickford, the man who carried out a machete attack in New York City's Times Square during 2022's New Year's Eve celebration, was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Thursday.
Bickford, 20, pleaded guilty in January to slashing three New York City police officers in an attack inspired by Islamic extremism, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The Maine native faced up to 120 years in prison if he had received the maximum consecutive sentences for the six charges to which he pleaded guilty.
"Inspired by radical Islamic extremism, Trevor Bickford brutally attacked three NYPD officers who were just doing their jobs by protecting the public during the Times Square New Year's Eve festivities. Thankfully, one officer's quick-thinking actions stopped the defendant's attack while minimizing risk to the innocent bystanders who easily might have become additional victims of the defendant's heinous violence," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Then 19, Bickford traveled from his home in Maine to Times Square with the intent to attack government officials and military-aged men, and with the hope of becoming a martyr. Shouting "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for 'God is great', he injured three NYPD officers, leaving one with a skull fracture. One officer shot Bickford in the shoulder, halting his attack.
"The defendant's brutal ambush of three New York City police officers keeping watch over New Year's Eve celebrations was a premeditated act of terrorism," said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. "Police officers work tirelessly to protect the communities they serve and assaults on them are reprehensible. He planned, prepared, and traveled to conduct a savage attack in support of his violent ideology, and now he is being held accountable for his actions."
Following his 27-year prison sentence, Bickford will remain under supervised release for the rest of his life.
-With reporting from TMX.
