Accused terrorist Sayfullo Saipov attacked on Halloween in NYC to maximize death: prosecutors

An accused terrorist chose Halloween, when streets are crowded, to “mow over people like crops” in a 6,000-pound truck as part of his deluded quest to join ISIS, prosecutors told a Manhattan jury Tuesday.

In his closing argument at Sayfullo Saipov’s Manhattan Federal Court death penalty trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richman said the Uzbekistan native wanted to become a member of the Islamic State terror group by attacking Americans on their home soil.

That goal was all that was on Saipov’s mind when he barreled down the busy bike path parallel to Hudson River Park killing eight people and wounding 11 on Oct. 31, 2017, the prosecutor alleged.

Richman said before the attack, Saipov’s motives were clear, based on his online search history. During the bloodshed he carried hand-drawn ISIS slogans.

“And after his attack was completed, after he turned that bike path into a scene of bleeding and horror, after he smashed into a school bus with such force it had to be sawed open — after he received hours of medical care at the same hospital where some of his victims were treated — he asked to hang the ISIS flag and he smiled,” Richman said.

“‘The Islamic State shall endure.’ These were his words to tell the world why — why he attacked this city,” the prosecutor added, citing Saipov’s notebook in evidence. “Why he targeted innocent civilians. Why he turned a bike path into his battle field, why he ran them over without mercy.”

Richman said Saipov methodically researched how to execute the attack for months and chose a truck as his weapon of choice to inflict the most harm. The prosecutor pointed to Saipov’s phone records, showing how he took inspiration from the 2016 terror attack in the French Riviera city of Nice, when Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a French-Tunisian man, killed 84 people after plowing into crowds of Bastille Day revelers in a truck before opening fire on the crowd.

Richman said Saipov planned to maximize the number of people he killed by researching busy areas that attracted large crowds and told the FBI he specifically chose Halloween because he knew there would be more people on the street.

“He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew exactly why he did it. And he knew exactly what the result would be: he would become a part of ISIS,” Richman said.

“To pledge his allegiance to the brutal terrorist organization that he views as the only true follower of Sharia law.”

Saipov, 34, has pleaded not guilty to 28 counts. Prosecutors are seeking capitol punishment, in the first such case under President Biden’s Justice Department.

If the jurors find Saipov guilty of death penalty-eligible crimes, they will reconvene to determine unanimously whether he is executed or sent to prison for life, said Manhattan Federal Court Judge Vernon Broderick.

During the trial, jurors saw harrowing video of Saipov allegedly plowing down the bike path in a truck he rented from a Passaic, N.J. Home Depot.

Blood-curdling screams are heard on a video of the attack and its aftermath. The jury saw footage of the accused terrorist facing a fusillade of bullets from a city cop after Saipov allegedly crashed into a school bus, ending his trail of death.

Killed in the bloodshed were Darren Drake, 32, of New Jersey, and 23-year-old New Yorker Nicholas Cleves.

Argentine tourists Hernan Diego Mendoza, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij, Hernan Ferruchi and Diego Enrique Angelini also died. Only half of the group of 10 high school friends, who met in the city to celebrate 30 years of friendship, made it home.

A 31-year-old mother of two, Ann-Laure Decadt, of Belgium, was fatally hit as she rode with her two sisters and mom. Jurors heard testimony from her devastated loved ones about watching her die on the roadside.

Saipov’s lawyer David Patton, who was expected to deliver his summation later Tuesday, told the jury from the start that the trial wouldn’t be a normal one — and that his client was guilty of murder charges.

Patton narrowed his defense to refute prosecutors’ theory that Saipov carried out the carnage to join the Islamic State terror group, known as ISIS. The Uzbekistan native did not grow up in an overtly religious society, nor do members of his family hold extremist views, his lawyer has argued.

Saipov became radicalized on U.S. soil during a job as a long-haul truck driver, when he passed the time consuming conspiracy theories online, Patton said.