A New York man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for an ISIS-inspired subway pipebomb attack in 2017, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
31-year-old Akayed Ullah of Brooklyn, New York, was convicted by a federal grand jury for the detonation and attempted detonation of a bomb in a subway station in New York City, a DOJ press release stated.
Akayed Ullah: Times Square subway pipe bomber jailed for life https://t.co/zXSWwDPkGl
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Ullah said he carried out the attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). He wore a pipe bomb strapped to his chest and detonated the bomb in the subway station, the DOJ stated. Ullah was immediately taken into custody after the detonation.
Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division said that Ullah constructed the bomb and detonated it in “the heart of New York City to harm and terrorize as many people as possible.” (RELATED: Man Accused Of Plotting Terrorist Attack After Watching ISIS Videos Says He Was ‘Watching Porn 10 Minutes Later’)
“This case reminds us that the threat of ISIS-inspired terrorism remains real. This sentence holds Ullah accountable, as he will spend the rest of his life in federal prison for his crimes. I want to thank all of the agents, analysts, and prosecutors whose outstanding work made this result possible,” Demers said.
Ullah was said to have started radicalizing in 2014 because he disagreed with U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He told a correctional officer in 2017 that “more is coming” and “you started this war, we will finish it. More is coming, you’ll see,” according to DOJ.