“Abdullah el-Faisal believed every word in a speech by Osama bin Laden … and thought images of the coffins of US service members were laughable, New York prosecutors say.
They also believe the Muslim cleric is ‘one of the most influential English-speaking terrorists of our time,’ Assistant District Attorney Gary Galperin said during opening statements at Faisal’s trial on state terrorism charges.
Now, Faisal has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
A Manhattan court sentenced him Thursday after a nearly three-month trial in which he was found guilty of five terrorism-related charges. He is the first person to be tried under New York state terror laws passed after the September 11, 2001, attacks, the district attorney’s office said.”
– Brynn Gingras and Yon Pomrenze, “First Person Tried Under New York Terror Laws Passed in Wake of 9/11 Is Sentenced to 18 Years,” cnn.com, March 23, 2023