Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy
Born	May 1998 Kuwait
Criminal status	Incarcerated at ADX Florence
Conviction(s)	Conspiracy to commit terrorism transcending national boundaries and material support
Criminal penalty	40 years

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy (born May 1998) is Canadian national that was convicted terrorism-related in 2016. El Bahnasawy plotted to carry out an attack on Times Square in New York City and to also attack the subway system.

In December 2018, El Bahnasawy was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

Early life

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy was born in Kuwait in May 1998. His family resided in Oakville, Ontario. He was the son of Osama and Khdiga El Bahnasawy, an IT consultant and University professor respectively. Growing up El Bahnasawy's teachers noted that he was hyperactive and had trouble focusing in school. Throughout El Bahnsawy's adolescent life, he struggled with issues related to his mental health and subsequent substance abuse. He was diagnosed with both major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. He was placed in both the Kuwaiti Center of Psychiatric Health and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario.

Terror plot and arrest

El Bahnasawy began communicating on message boards in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. He conspired with Talha Haroon, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen residing in Pakistan, and Russell Salic, a 38-year-old Philippines citizen and resident, to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan in 2016, all in the name of ISIS. El Bahnasawy purchased bomb-making materials for the attack and rented out a cabin that was driving distance from New York City to build the bombs for the attack. Haroon allegedly made plans to travel from Pakistan to New York City to join El Bahnasawy in carrying out the attacks. As El Bahnasawy and Haroon prepared to execute the NYC Attacks, Salic allegedly wired money from the Philippines to the United States to help fund the terrorist operation.

The group was infiltrated by an undercover informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who acted as if they were willing to participate in the attack. On a family trip in May 2016, El Bahnasawy was arrested by federal agents in New Jersey, he was charged with conspiracy to commit terror acts transcending national borders and providing material support to terror groups. Haroon and Salic were arrested in Pakistan and the Philippines, respectively. In 2020, a Pakistani Supreme Court decided to halt the United States extradition request of Haroon. Salic, a Philippian doctor is also yet to be extradited to the United States.

On December 19, 2018, El Bahnasawy was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. The prosecution on the case had pushed for El Bahnasawy to be sentenced to life imprisonment. El Bahnasawy's mother apparently yelled "This is a sick boy! This is crazy. You have no justice," before being ushered out of the courtroom.

Incarceration and prison attack

After El Bahnasawy's conviction in late 2018, he spent 2019 and much of 2020 in the Special Housing Units (SHU) of Federal Correctional Institution, Gilmer and United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy. In late 2020, El Bahnasawy was transferred from Big Sandy to United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. On December 7, 2020, at around 6:15 am, El Bahnasawy sneaked behind USP Allenwood corrections officer Dale Franquet Jr and stabbed him twice in the back and eye with a 14-inch shank. Franquet lost his eye in the attack. El Bahnasawy was quickly transferred to United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg. In April 2021, El Bahnasawy was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility. His projected release date from federal prison is March 18, 2051.