PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) — A Maine man who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges after trying to kill three New York City police officers with a machete was sentenced to 27 years in prison Thursday.
In a statement, 20-year-old Trevor Bickford, of Wells, apologized and admitted he traveled near Times Square in on New Year's Eve in 2022 and attacked the officers.
Prosecutors said Bickford specifically went after police officers with a machete and tried to grab one of their guns before getting shot in the shoulder.
One officer suffered a fractured skull in the attack. All of them survived.
Attorneys for Bickford said he suffers from mental illness and had been radicalized by Islamic jihadist material online.
Prosecutors said during a hearing that Bickford went to New York "in order to kill people and carry out Jihad."
In court documents, prosecutors also outlined parts of an interview with Bickford after the attack.
“I wanted to kill an officer in uniform. I saw the officer and waited until he was alone. I said, ‘Allauh Akbar.’ I walked up and hit him over the head with a kukri. I charged another officer but dropped the knife and I tried to get the police officer's gun but couldn't," he allegedly told investigators.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Bickford's guilty plea should "serve as a warning."
"Terrorists who target and attack law enforcement and endanger the American people will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Garland said.
The Department of Justice said the charges Bickford pleaded guilty to carried a potential sentence of 120 years in prison.
Prosecutors were seeking 50 years behind bars for Bickford.
In addition to the prison sentence, Bickford was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
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