A man who authorities said fell under the influence of the Islamic State group was on Wednesday convicted of plotting to behead a conservative US blogger for organizing a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest.
Jurors found David Wright guilty of all charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
The 28-year-old from Everett, Massachusetts, faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced in December.
Federal officials called Wright’s conviction a victory for the US in its fight against terrorism.
“We can all sleep better now knowing that David Wright, a person who wanted to kill in the name of ISIS, will no longer be free to walk the streets of the Commonwealth,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Peter Kowenhoven said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.
Prosecutors said Wright, his uncle and a third man conspired to kill blogger Pamela Geller because they were upset she organized Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas in 2015.
During the contest, two other men opened fire outside and wounded a security guard before they were killed in a shootout with law enforcement assigned to guard the event.
Wright’s uncle, Ussamah Rahim, told Wright on a recorded telephone call later that month that he could not wait to attack Geller and decided instead to go after “those boys in blue,” referring to police.
Wright told his uncle that was “beautiful” and encouraged him to delete all the data from his computer before carrying out his attack.
Hours later, Rahim was shot and killed by authorities after he lunged at them with a knife when they approached him in Boston.
The attack on Geller, who has spearheaded scores of events across the nation to decry Islamic extremism, was never carried out.
Geller said she is thrilled with the verdict and “deeply grateful to the good people of Boston who were on the jury.”
Wright cried on the stand when he spoke of his uncle, insisting that he did not think Rahim was serious about the attack.
Wright, who weighed more than 227kg and spent much of his time playing video games in 2015, testified that he used Islamic State group propaganda to get attention, but that it was just a “fantasy.”
“I didn’t want my uncle to get hurt. I didn’t want law enforcement to get hurt,” Wright said. “I lost someone who was very close to me because I was so deluded and self-centered that I couldn’t see beyond my own need for attention.”
Wright’s attorney said they are disappointed in the verdict and heartbroken for Wright and his family, but plan to appeal.
Wright was the leader of the conspiracy and recruited his uncle and others to help him wage war on the US, prosecutors said.
Wright’s uncle received directions about the plan to kill Geller from Junaid Hussain, an Islamic State group member and hacker who was later killed in an airstrike in Syria, prosecutors said.
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