BOSTON — A man who authorities say fell under the influence of the Islamic State group was convicted Wednesday of plotting to behead a conservative American blogger for organizing a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest.
Jurors found David Wright guilty of all charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.
The 28-year-old from Everett, Massachusetts, faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced in December.
Federal officials called Wright’s conviction a victory for America in its fight against terrorism.
“We can all sleep better now knowing that David Wright, a person who wanted to kill in the name of ISIS, will no longer be free to walk the streets of the Commonwealth,” said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Peter Kowenhoven.
Prosecutors said Wright, his uncle and a third man conspired to kill blogger Pamela Geller because they were upset she organized Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas in 2015. During the contest, two other men opened fire outside and wounded a security guard before they were killed in a shootout with law enforcement assigned to guard the event.
Wright’s uncle, Ussamah Rahim, told Wright on a recorded phone call later that month that he couldn’t wait to attack Geller and decided instead to go after “those boys in blue,” referring to police. Wright told his uncle that was “beautiful” and encouraged him to delete all the data from his computer before carrying out his attack.
Hours later, Rahim was shot and killed by authorities after he lunged at them with a knife when they approached him in Boston. The attack on Geller, who has spearheaded scores of events across the nation to decry Islamic extremism, was never carried out. She didn’t testify at the trial.
Geller said she is thrilled with the verdict and “deeply grateful to the good people of Boston who were on the jury.”