A Canadian man was sentenced to life in prison last week a June 21, 2017, attack on a Bishop Airport police officer from Flint, Michigan.
Amor Ftouhi of Quebec, Canada was charged with committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and with two other offenses linked to his attack. He was convicted by a federal jury last year of entering the United States with a professed mission to kill police officers. He had previously researched American gun laws and Michigan gun shows before crossing the border, though he had to resort to a knife when he arrived. While referencing killings in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, he proceeded to stab a lieutenant of the Flint Bishop Airport police twice in the neck. The officer survived the attack.
After his arrest, Ftouhi had described himself as a soldier of Allah subscribed to the ideology of Al Qaeda.
“The evidence at trial demonstrated that Ftouhi had a ‘mission’ to kill as many American law enforcement as possible in an act of violent jihad,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said. “The sentence today reflects his extreme dangerousness and the need to prevent him from further acts of violence in the future. Today’s sentence is the result of the hard work of those who investigated and prosecuted the case, including our foreign partners in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”
The investigation was conducted by the Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the FBI Flint Resident Agency, the Michigan State Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Flint Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. Ftouhi was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman.
“The FBI’s highest priority remains preventing and combating terrorism here in the U.S. and around the world,” Special Agent in Charge Timothy Slater said. “Today’s sentencing marks the end of an almost-two-year effort – on behalf of the FBI, our partner agencies on the FBI Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, and our foreign partners in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – to hold Mr. Ftouhi accountable for his attempt to kill a police officer in an act of terror. I would like to thank all of our state, federal and international partners for their essential contributions to this case and to acknowledge again the heroic actions of the civilians and law enforcement officers who were present on the day of the attack and likely saved the officer’s life.”