New York
The unusual outburst by Akayed Ullah in Manhattan federal court capped a trial in which the defense maintained he intended to kill only himself last Dec. 11.
Nobody died, and most of the injuries were not serious.
Just after jurors left the Manhattan federal courtroom, Ullah announced he had something to say and repeatedly insisted he did not act on the Islamic State group’s behalf.
“I was angry with Donald Trump because he says he will bomb the Middle East and then he will protect his nation. So I said: ‘Donald Trump, you cannot do like this.’ Nobody likes bombing, your honor.”
Judge Richard J. Sullivan told him: “Right now is not the time for a statement.”
Prosecutors said Ullah sought to maim or kill commuters in response to calls for “lone wolf” terrorist attacks by the terror group.
“Your honor, you heard what the government is trying to do. They are trying to put me in the group, which I don’t support, your honor,” Ullah told Sullivan.
“Mr. Ullah, now is not the time for this,” said the judge, who set sentencing for April 5. Ullah faces a mandatory 30-year prison sentence and could be sent to prison for life.
Hearing about Ullah’s claims as she left court, juror Linda Artis told reporters that Ullah may have swayed some jurors if he had taken the witness stand.
“He did it. The big question was why,” she said. “And a lot of it couldn’t be answered because he didn’t testify. That was the big hang-up for me.”
Artis, 38, of Manhattan, said she worried that some laws used against Ullah were too vague.
She said she didn’t want a lot of people to be “labeled a terrorist if they are just a random whack job.”
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said the Election Day verdict after an attack in which Ullah sought to make a political statement through deadly violence “fittingly underscores the core principles of American democracy and spirit: Americans engage in the political process through votes, not violence.”