NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. jury on Thursday convicted Sayfullo Saipov on murder and terrorism charges for using a truck to kill eight people on a Manhattan bike path in 2017, in the first federal death penalty trial of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.
After finding Saipov guilty of committing murder with the goal of joining the militant group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the jury will return at a later date to consider whether the death penalty is appropriate punishment.
The only point of contention between federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Saipov’s defense was whether he carried out the attack in order to join ISIS, which the United States brands a terrorist organization. Saipov had pleaded not guilty.
He was convicted on all of the 28 counts he faced, including murder and attempted murder to gain entrance to ISIS, material support to a terrorist organization, and damage or destruction of a motor vehicle.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)
