Ahmad Khan Rahimi, the Afghan immigrant who injured 30 people in a bomb attack on Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and was taken into custody after a shootout with police in September 2016, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday.
Rahimi, widely known as the “Chelsea Bomber,” was convicted on eight counts including using a weapon of mass destruction. One of the bombs he set off during his attack was intended to kill participants in a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, but the carnage he planned was averted when the race schedule was changed.
It is also fortunate that one of the bombs he set in Chelsea failed to detonate, and that he did not get a chance to use the six pipe bombs he had ready to go. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Crowley said it was a “miracle” no one was killed by his attacks.
Prosecutors said Rahimi imbibed jihadi propaganda, including the writings of al-Qaeda leaders Anwar al-Awlaki and Osama bin Laden, and actively sought to recruit other inmates while in prison. Somehow he got his hands on an impressive terrorist library in prison, because prosecutors accused him of providing other inmates with Awlaki and bin Laden speeches, instructions for making bombs, books about jihad, and copies of al-Qaeda’s magazine Inspire.
In a letter to an associate in Germany, he said American hands are “drenched with Muslim blood.” His journal was filled with praise for Islamic terrorists. His own father called him a terrorist and criticized the FBI for not detecting and arresting his son sooner.
Nevertheless, Rahimi took no responsibility for his actions at his sentencing, instead accusing the authorities of persecuting him because he is Muslim. His father claims he said, “Thank God I didn’t kill anybody, that’s good news for me,” which is not exactly a statement of remorse.
“I don’t harbor hate toward anyone,” Rahimi insisted at his sentencing.
“You have no remorse. God forgive you,” said one of his victims, Pauline Nelson, who was present for the sentencing.
Rahimi’s attorney described him as a “complicated person” and said he intends to appeal the two life sentences plus 30 years he was given.
The attorney also sent a letter to the judge indicating that Rahimi has been studying “business, entrepreneurship, and drama” while in prison and asking that he be “allowed to avail himself of any educational opportunities” in the future. Rahimi was sentenced to pay over half a million dollars in restitution to his victims, which he could theoretically earn by working in prison.
The court was asked to incarcerate Rahimi in or near Virginia to make family visitation easier.
“Rahimi’s conviction and sentencing are victories for New York City and our nation in the fight against terror,” declared U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.
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