'Double jeopardy' against Wells, Maine, man dropped in NYC New Year's Eve machete attack

WELLS, Maine — Federal prosecutors have dropped one of its charges against Trevor Bickford, the local man accused of attacking three police officers with a machete on New Year’s Eve near Times Square in an effort to wage jihad.

On Oct. 10, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams informed U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel his office would not be trying Bickford on count one of the indictments that accused the suspect of attempting to murder “military-aged men working for the U.S. government.”

Instead, Williams said, his office will proceed with efforts to convict Bickford on three counts that accuse him of attempting to murder three specific police officers.

For the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, the decision was the result of a ruling the judge had made on Sept. 26 in favor of a motion filed by Bickford’s attorneys in July.

In his ruling, the judge agreed with Bickford’s lawyers that pursuing a conviction of all four aforementioned counts would place their client in “double jeopardy,” a legal term in which a suspect is tried more than once for the same offense. Specifically, Castel granted the motion because “the victims of the attempted killings charged in counts two through four are among the intended victims in count one.”

The judge gave Williams and his office 14 days to decide if they wanted to move forward with the first count or the three attempted murder charges, for each of the three police officers involved.

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In a memorandum of opposition to Bickford’s motion, government attorneys tried to argue that the four counts were not multiplicitous and that the defendant’s motion was premature.

"The defendant bludgeoned, slashed, and attempted to kill before he was shot, and his rampage was stopped," stated the attorneys. "Thus, the counts are not multiplicitous."

According to the complaint and indictment filed in the case, Bickford allegedly went to Times Square on Dec. 31 and attacked three on-duty officers with a machete shouting "Allahu Akbar.” An officer shot Bickford in the shoulder, and Bickford was brought to a hospital.

At the hospital, authorities interviewed Bickford, who allegedly said he had intended to target all military-aged men.

In February, the government filed a seven-count indictment against Bickford. Those charges, including the newly dismissed first one, are based on Bickford allegedly seeking to wage jihad against the United States.

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FBI interviewed Trevor Bickford 17 days before attack

In a recent court filing, government attorneys provided additional details to the case.

The attorneys said Bickford’s attack was “intensely premeditated,” stating he spent months researching radical Islamic ideology. They accused Bickford of thinking of ways to wage jihad.

“As he immersed himself deeper into this propaganda, the defendant devoted himself to violent Islamic extremism and pursuit of the jihad that he would eventually unleash on this community,” the attorneys stated.

Bickford converted to Islam in the summer of 2022, according to the government. In early December 2022, he allegedly left a note at a mosque that addressed its members.

“I fear for you a day when no repentance will be accepted,” Bickford allegedly wrote. “You are not upon the saved path. If you are sincere in your devotion to Allah, then reject democracy, and openly declare your enmity and hatred for the kuffar and mushrikeen.”

Also that month, family members reported their concerns about Bickford to local authorities and the FBI. On Dec. 13, FBI agents interviewed Bickford.

Bickford allegedly told the FBI that he had purchased a plane ticket to India, with plans to continue to Afghanistan, for the purpose of allying with the Taliban and convincing them to help him fight the oppression of Muslims in Burma. He allegedly told the FBI he did not believe in attacking civilians and had no intention of joining al-Qaida.

Bickford allegedly had canceled his trip to Afghanistan because his brother, who was serving in the U.S. military, was expecting to visit.

Bickford is said to have refused to sign a consent form that would have allowed the FBI to search his cell phone and laptop.

Around the time of the FBI interview, Bickford allegedly told his brother that he was “scared that he was going to go to federal prison.”

U.S. attorneys said in their court filing that after the FBI interview, Bickford turned his attention to the United States and stepped up his plans to attack, researching al-Qaida, jihad, and information about the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City. For his research, Bickford allegedly downloaded an encrypted app and used the “dark web.”

Bickford is said to have steeled himself for his coming attack by watching a video featuring Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, the mentor of Osama bin Laden.

Bickford’s motion this summer to dismiss one of the charges also provided new details about events leading to and following the alleged attack on Dec. 31.

On Dec. 10, 2022, Bickford's mother called an ambulance to transport him to the psychiatric department of a local hospital because she believed he was “struggling with severe mental illness.” Bickford was later released after it was determined that he was not a risk to himself or others, according to Bickford's defense attorneys in a motion to the court.

After the alleged attack, Bickford was brought to a psychiatric unit after he was treated for his gunshot wound and interviewed by authorities. At the unit, he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a bipolar type, and was prescribed “various antipsychotics and mood stabilizers,” according to his attorneys.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'Double jeopardy' against Maine man dropped in NYC machete attack