Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy

El Bahnasawy was born in Kuwait. Throughout El Bahnsawy's adolescent life, he struggled with issues related to his mental illness and subsequent substance abuse.[1] El Bahnsawy had a significant history of mental health difficulties prior to his arrest.[3] From age 14 years old, El Bahnsawy was placed as an inpatient in three different mental health hospitals, including Egypt, Kuwaiti Center of Psychiatric Health and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario.[4] El Bahnasawy was a minor with no history of violence or criminal record prior to making contact with an undercover FBI informant to plot terror attacks in New York City.[5]

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy was a 17-year-old living at his parents' home in Mississauga, west of Toronto, in 2015 when he met an undercover FBI agent online. El Bahnasawy agreed to help plot attacks in New York City, including the bombing of Times Square and the city's subway system and to carry out shooting attacks. El Bahnasawy was unmedicated at this time and pending placement in CAMH.[6] The undercover agent exchanged “inflammatory messages” with El Bahnasawy, as communications showed the Canadian was “influenced by the informant who contributed to Mr. El Bahnasawy's radicalization,” the defence said.[7]

El Bahnasawy began communicating on message boards in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. He conspired with Talha Haroon, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen residing in Pakistan, and Russell Salic, a 38-year-old Philippines citizen and resident, to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan in 2016, all in the name of ISIS. El Bahnasawy purchased bomb-making materials for the attack and rented out a cabin that was driving distance from New York City to build the bombs for the attack. All activates were online with the encouragement and guidance from the undercover as his lawyer stated in court filing. Haroon allegedly made plans to travel from Pakistan to New York City to join El Bahnasawy in carrying out the attacks. As El Bahnasawy and Haroon prepared to execute the attacks, Salic allegedly wired money from the Philippines to the United States to help fund the terrorist operation.[8]

El Bahnasawy's Canadian lawyer, Dennis Edney, alleges the FBI entrapped his client and that the RCMP illegally obtained El Bahnasawy's medical records and provided them to the Americans so they could profile their target.[3] The group was infiltrated by an undercover informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who acted as if they were willing to participate in the attack. On a family trip in May 2016, El Bahnasawy was arrested by federal agents in New Jersey; he was charged with conspiracy to commit terror acts transcending national borders and providing material support to terror groups. Haroon and Salic were arrested in Pakistan and the Philippines, respectively. In 2020, a Pakistani Supreme Court decided to halt the United States extradition request of Haroon. Salic, a Filipino doctor, is also yet to be extradited to the United States.[9][10] El Bahnasawy's lawyer alleges he was entrapped by the FBI with the help of RCMP, who were aware of his mental illness but did not contact his family.[11][12] Additionally, none of the plans were carried out.[13]

On December 19, 2018, El Bahnasawy was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. The prosecution on the case had pushed for El Bahnasawy to be sentenced to life imprisonment. El Bahnasawy's mother yelled "This is a sick boy! This is crazy. You have no justice," before being ushered out of the courtroom.[14]

A number of recommendations were made to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) on where to house El Bahnasawy. The court recommended that El Bahnasawy be designated to FCI Butner-Medium (care level 3) to facilitate greater proximity to mental health services. To the extent BOP finds that El Bahnasawy should be housed at a Mental Health Care Level 2 facility, the court recommended FCI McKean-Medium or FCI Schuylkill-Medium, both in Pennsylvania, to facilitate regular visitation with his parents and sister.[15]

After El Bahnasawy's conviction in late 2018, he spent 2019 and much of 2020 in the Special Housing Units of Federal Correctional Institution, Gilmer and United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy. In late 2020, El Bahnasawy was transferred from Big Sandy to United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. Professionals who evaluated El Bahnasawy in the New York City prosecution concluded his mental issues included bipolar and other disorders along with auditory hallucinations, His attorney Andrew J. Frisch pointed out. The latter are in the form of an imagined person who threatens him if he fails to follow directions, he said. Despite the mental illness history, A physician assistant's notes of a Nov. 25, 2020, psychiatric evaluation at Allenwood stated El Bahnasawy was not medicated, as mentioned in the court documents.

On December 7, 2020, at around 6:15 am, El Bahnasawy snuck behind USP Allenwood corrections officer Dale Franquet Jr and stabbed him twice in the back and eye with a 14-inch shank. Franquet lost his eye in the attack. the assault occurred in the transitional care unit at Allenwood to which inmates with mental illness are designated by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). El Bahnasawy was quickly transferred to United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg.[16] In April 2021, El Bahnasawy was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility.[17]

On October 20, 2022, El Bahnasawy plead no contest to charges of two counts of assault on a federal officer. In addition he was also charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a prohibited object, and providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. According to his attorney, Andrew J. Frisch, El Bahnasawy faces an additional 40 years in prison for the counts in which he wants to enter pleas on.[18][19]