ISIS-inspired terrorist convicted on all counts for 2017 NYC attack

A federal jury on Thursday convicted ISIS-inspired terrorist Sayfullo Saipov on 28 counts stemming from a deadly incident in 2017 during which he drove a rented truck through numerous civilians.

Prosecutors relayed that Saipov, a native of Uzbekistan, had indicated his motivation for the attack came from his interpretation of Islam, which had been inspired by ISIS propaganda.

"'The Islamic State shall endure.' These were his words to tell the world why, why he attacked this city, why he targeted innocent civilians, why he turned a bike path into his battlefield, why he ran them over without mercy," said Assistant US Attorney Jason Richman during the court proceedings, the New York Post reported.

Saipov's lawyer contended that though he was inspired by ISIS propaganda, Saipov did not carry out his attack in order to join the group outright. Defense attorney David Patton did not deny his client's guilt for the attack, but merely disputed that he was seeking to join the terror group in so doing.

Twenty-six of the charges Saipov faced were for federal racketeering and stemmed from the allegation that he sought to join the terror group.

Nine of the counts for which the jury convicted him make Saipov eligible to receive the death penalty, according to the Post. The trial will soon proceed to an argument about the application of that penalty.