Friday, November 11, 2016

Ahmad Rahami appears in Manhattan Federal Court on terrorism charges for Chelsea bombing

Ahmad Rahami faced terrorism charges Thursday.

The man accused of planting bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey was finally brought before a federal judge Thursday — nearly two months after being wounded in a shootout with cops.
Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, sported a thick beard, light beige shirt and prison uniform and walked with a limp during the presentment in Manhattan Federal Court before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
His public defender, David Patton, said Rahami still was suffering from his wounds that could become infected at Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he is being held.
“We have some real concerns about Mr. Rahami's medical condition and the ability of the MCC to provide adequate medical care,” Patton said.
Rahami has endured eight to 10 surgeries and still has an open wound on his right leg that requires dressing.
He nearly lost his left hand and has serious liver damage, Patton said.
Patton did not request bail during the proceeding in which Netburn read the terrorism charges against Rahami. The alleged terrorist will enter a plea at a later proceeding.
"He certainly plans to enter a plea of not guilty," Patton said after the proceeding.
Rahami, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, faces up to life in prison for using weapons of mass destruction, bombing a place of public use, destruction of property and use of a destructive device during a crime of violence.
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Rahami was wounded in shootout with police before being taken into custody.

“For his alleged acts of terror, Rahami will now face justice in a federal courthouse just blocks south of where he allegedly planted his bombs,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
Netburn said she would discuss Rahami’s medical care at a conference Wednesday.
The Sept. 17 bombing in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood injured 31 people. The explosive was “packed with ball bearings and steel nuts, hundreds of which were recovered from the blast site,” according to court papers.
A second pressure-cooker bomb allegedly planted by Rahami nearby failed to explode.
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Rahami was also arraigned from a hospital bed on charges of attempted murder of a police officer.

More explosives were found in two New Jersey locations that same day, officials said.
Authorities have described Rahami as a "jihadist" who begged for martyrdom and praised Osama bin Laden.
He bought bomb components on eBay, made a video of himself testing out homemade explosives, and kept a journal expressing outrage at the U.S. "slaughter" of overseas jihadists, officials said.
He was taken into custody Sept. 19 following a furious manhunt that concluded with him being shot by police in Linden, N.J.
Rahami also faces five counts of attempted murder of a police officer from the shootout.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/ahmad-rahami-appears-federal-court-terrorism-charges-article-1.2867375




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