Suspect who stabbed 3 officers in Times Square on New Year's Eve pleads guilty to federal charges

Trevor Bickford pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges stemming from a 2022 New Year's Eve knife attack on three New York Police Department officers manning a checkpoint on the Times Square periphery.

Bickford, who was 19 when he carried out the alleged attack, came from Maine in December 2022 intending to carry out a jihadist attack on officers in uniform with a "machete-style knife," prosecutors said.

Bickford, now 20, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted murder of government officials and three counts of assault on government officials.

He faces up to 120 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11.

"Bickford targeted the iconic yearly celebration to carry out brazen acts of violence and hatred in the name of jihad," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Bickford, as with countless others who have carried out acts of terrorism in support of misguided ideologies, is now going to spend lengthy time exactly where he deserves -- in federal prison."

Bickford allegedly told investigators the attack was unsuccessful because none of the officers died and because he did not achieve martyrdom, according to the complaint from the Southern District of New York.

Bickford was shot and arrested by officers on Dec. 31, 2022, after he allegedly attacked three NYPD officers with an 18-inch kukri knife near West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year's Eve celebrations.

The attack prompted security adjustments for this year's New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square.

He faces separate charges by the Manhattan district attorney.