US man jailed for 27 years over NYC attack on police

A 20-year-old US man who attacked police officers with a machete-style knife near New York's packed Times Square on New Year's Eve 2022 was sentenced to 27 years in prison, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Trevor Bickford, a resident of the northern state of Maine, traveled to the iconic plaza in midtown Manhattan to commit an attack on December 31, 2022 that federal prosecutor Damian Williams said was "inspired by radical Islamic extremism."

Bickford had pleaded guilty in January to charges of attempted murder and assault in connection with the attack, which left three officers hospitalized.

"Today's sentence holds Trevor Bickford accountable for his premeditated 2022 terrorist attack in Times Square during which he attempted to kill three NYPD officers in a violent rampage," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Bickford had shown signs of radicalization before the attack, and expressed interest in traveling abroad to wage jihad, but ultimately decided to commit an attack on American soil, according to court documents.