The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
https://nypost.com/2018/01/23/alleged-bike-path-terrorist-refuses-to-stand-for-federal-judge/
Alleged bike-path terrorist refuses to stand for federal judge
By Elizabeth Rosner
January 23, 2018 | 2:56pm | Updated
The accused West Side bike-path terrorist refused to stand as a Manhattan federal judge entered the courtroom Tuesday, despite his lawyer’s best efforts to get him to.
Sayfullo Saipov’s lawyer had motioned at him with her hand to get him to stand out of respect for the judge, as is courtroom protocol. But Saipov, 29, remained seated and stared stonily ahead.
During the proceeding, the murder suspect, who was dressed in a navy-blue suit and orange socks, bizarrely constantly nodded his head.
Prosecutors asked for a trial date of April 2019, but Saipov’s camp said they needed more time. The judge asked both sides to submit briefs by March 30 providing more information on the case
before making a decision.
The feds also were ordered to decide by Sept. 1 whether they would seek the death penalty for Saipov, who is accused of killing eight people in the attack.
Last week, Saipov’s lawyers indicated that their client would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence without parole.
The accused lone-wolf terrorist, an Uzbek national, allegedly plowed his rented Home Depot truck down the popular bike path just after 3 p.m. Oct. 31, striking nearly two dozen pedestrians and cyclists.
He made it 17 blocks before crashing his truck into a bus near Stuyvesant High School and being shot by a cop as he fled, authorities have said. Saipov was allegedly screaming, “Allahu akbar!’’ — “God is great! in Arabic — as he ran.
Notes declaring his allegiance to ISIS — and a flag from the terror organization — were recovered from the truck, officials said. Saipov later allegedly asked cops if he could hang the flag in his hospital room while he recovered.
Saipov faces nine charges that carry either a guaranteed life sentence or execution.
Alleged bike-path terrorist refuses to stand for federal judge
By Elizabeth Rosner
January 23, 2018 | 2:56pm | Updated
The accused West Side bike-path terrorist refused to stand as a Manhattan federal judge entered the courtroom Tuesday, despite his lawyer’s best efforts to get him to.
Sayfullo Saipov’s lawyer had motioned at him with her hand to get him to stand out of respect for the judge, as is courtroom protocol. But Saipov, 29, remained seated and stared stonily ahead.
During the proceeding, the murder suspect, who was dressed in a navy-blue suit and orange socks, bizarrely constantly nodded his head.
Prosecutors asked for a trial date of April 2019, but Saipov’s camp said they needed more time. The judge asked both sides to submit briefs by March 30 providing more information on the case
before making a decision.
The feds also were ordered to decide by Sept. 1 whether they would seek the death penalty for Saipov, who is accused of killing eight people in the attack.
Last week, Saipov’s lawyers indicated that their client would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence without parole.
The accused lone-wolf terrorist, an Uzbek national, allegedly plowed his rented Home Depot truck down the popular bike path just after 3 p.m. Oct. 31, striking nearly two dozen pedestrians and cyclists.
He made it 17 blocks before crashing his truck into a bus near Stuyvesant High School and being shot by a cop as he fled, authorities have said. Saipov was allegedly screaming, “Allahu akbar!’’ — “God is great! in Arabic — as he ran.
Notes declaring his allegiance to ISIS — and a flag from the terror organization — were recovered from the truck, officials said. Saipov later allegedly asked cops if he could hang the flag in his hospital room while he recovered.
Saipov faces nine charges that carry either a guaranteed life sentence or execution.