Court overturns subway bomber’s conviction for giving ISIS ‘material support,’ raising questions about terrorism prosecutions

A federal appeals court reversed a terrorism-related conviction for the 2017 New York City subway bomber in a decision that could have wide-reaching effects for the prosecutions of accused terrorists.

Akayed Ullah detonated a pipe bomb inside a busy Manhattan transit station in 2017, causing panic among commuters and injuring nearby civilians. Ullah later told investigators he carried out the attack in support of the terrorist group ISIS.

After a weeklong trial, Ullah was convicted of six charges, including one count of providing material support or resources to a terrorist organization. This week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction on that charge, finding although Ullah was inspired by ISIS propaganda online, he acted “entirely independently” of the terrorist organization.

As a result, the evidence to convict Ullah of providing material support under the relevant statute was insufficient, the court found – though the panel upheld his convictions on the other charges, including committing a terrorist attack against mass transportation systems.

Read more: CNN