The federal trial for accused bike path killer Sayfullo Saipov (right) began on Monday (Pictures: Getty Images/Reuters)
The trial for accused killer and ISIS sympathizer Sayfullo Saipov began on Monday in Manhattan Federal Court.
Saipov, 34, is facing charges for a deadly attack that killed eight people on a New York City bike path on Halloween in 2017.
‘Right after the attack, he proudly declared why he did it,’ Assistant US Attorney Alexander Li said in the prosecution’s opening remarks. ‘He did it for ISIS, the brutal terrorist organization.’
The attack left behind a mile-long trail of bodies, bicycles, and a ‘truck-sized hole’ in a school bus in what Li called a ‘scene of devastation and horror.’
Sayfullo Saipov listens to a translator on headphones while the prosecution makes its opening statement (Picture: REUTERS)
According to Li, Saipov was ‘proud’ to confess his crimes to FBI agents, and even asked for an ISIS flag to hang in his hospital room. The agent he allegedly confessed to is set to testify against him as a witness for the prosecution.
Judge Vernon Broderick estimated the trial would take about three months.
Saipov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, pleaded not guilty to 28 charges, including murder, attempted murder, and providing material support for terrorism.
Defendant Sayfullo Saipov, second from left, sits at the defense table flanked by his defense attorneys (Picture: AP)
If he is convicted, he will face the death penalty. This will be the first federal death penalty trial since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
The deadly attack took place in the afternoon of October 31, 2017, when the driver of a rented U-Haul pickup truck crossed over the median along the West Side Highway, slamming into pedestrians while accelerating above 60 miles per hour.
Eight people were killed in the assault, including five tourists from Argentina and one tourist from Belgium. Another one dozen people were injured by the truck.
Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the New York City truck attack, is seen in a mugshot (Picture: REUTERS)
The driver travelled about a mile south along the Hudson River, from Houston Street to Chambers Street. until they collided with a school bus.
After the collision, the driver emerged from the truck brandishing two firearms and yelling ‘Allahu Akbar,’ according to witnesses. A police officer shot him in the abdomen, then taken into custody and hospitalized.
Investigators later found the weapons were a paintball gun and a pellet gun.
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Sayfullo Saipov is facing charges for a deadly attack that killed eight people on a New York City bike path on Halloween in 2017.
