President Donald Trump called for prosecutors on Wednesday to seek the death penalty for Sayfullo Saipov, who mowed down more than a dozen innocent people on a New York City bike path on Tuesday.
'NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!' Trump tweeted.
The president on Wednesday seized on the deadly New York City truck attack to step up demands for stricter US immigration laws, asking Congress to end a visa program that let the Uzbek suspect into the country and saying he might send him to Guantanamo Bay.
Trump said he would consider sending Saipov to the military prison at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama tried but failed to shut.
No detainee has been sent to the Guantanamo prison since 2008.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later told reporters that Trump considers Saipov an 'enemy combatant' a designation that would curtail his legal rights.
President Donald Trump (left) called for prosecutors on Wednesday to seek the death penalty for Sayfullo Saipov (right) who mowed down more than a dozen innocent people on a New York City bike path on Tuesday
Trump called the suspect 'this animal' and lambasted the US justice system for terrorism suspects as 'a joke' and 'a laughing stock.'
Since taking office in January, Trump has sought to increase deportations of illegal immigrations and limit legal immigration.
The Muslim immigrant from Uzbekistan accused of carrying out Tuesday's terror attack in Manhattan entered court Wednesday evening in a wheelchair, handcuffed and with his feet shackled, to face terrorism charges filed against him by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Saipov, 29, wore a gray shirt and was surrounded by five guards while in his wheelchair inside a New York federal courthouse after he was charged with providing material support to a terrorist group and committing violence and destruction of motor vehicles.
Trump said he would consider sending Saipov to the military prison at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (above), which his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama tried but failed to shut
People gather for a candlelight vigil for victims of the attack at Foley Square in New York City on Wednesday
The suspect, Saipov, was allegedly an adherent of ISIS and was said to be radicalized domestically
His lawyers said Wednesday they were not seeking bail and a judge ordered him to be held in federal jail.
Saipov did not enter a plea to terrorism charges and a judge set his next court date for November 15.
Authorities say the Uzbek national watched ISIS videos on his cellphone and picked Halloween for the attack on a bike lane in lower Manhattan because he knew more people would be out on the streets.
Prosecutors said in court papers that Saipov asked to display the ISIS flag in his hospital room where he was recovering from being shot in the stomach by police ending the attack.
Saipov 'stated that he felt good about what he had done,' according to court papers.
The 29-year-old left behind knives and a note, handwritten in Arabic, that included Islamic religious references and said 'it will endure' — a phrase that commonly refers to ISIS, FBI agent Amber Tyree said in court papers.
The Muslim immigrant from Uzbekistan (above in court sketches) accused of carrying on Tuesday's terror attack in Manhattan entered court Wednesday evening in a wheelchair, handcuffed and with his feet shackled, to face terrorism charges filed against him by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Saipov, 29, wore a gray shirt and was surrounded by five guards while in his wheelchair inside a New York federal courthouse after he was charged with providing material support to a terrorist group and committing violence and destruction of motor vehicles
His lawyers said Wednesday they were not seeking bail and a judge ordered him to be held in federal jail. Saipov did not enter a plea to terrorism charges and a judge set his next court date for November 15
Questioned in his hospital bed, Saipov said he had been inspired by ISIS videos and began plotting an attack about a year ago, deciding to use a truck about two months ago, Tyree said. Saipov even rented a truck on October 22 to practice making turns, Tyree said.
John Miller, deputy New York police commissioner for intelligence, said Saipov 'appears to have followed, almost exactly to a T, the instructions that ISIS has put out.'
In the past few years, the Islamic State has exhorted followers online to use vehicles, knives or other close-at-hand means of killing people in their home countries. England, France and Germany have all seen deadly vehicle attacks since mid-2016.
A November 2016 issue of the group's online magazine detailed features that an attack truck or van should have, suggested renting such a vehicle and recommended targeting crowded streets and outdoor gatherings, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a militant-monitoring agency.
Carlos Batista, a neighbor of Saipov's in Paterson, New Jersey, said he had seen the suspect and two friends using the same model of rented truck several times in the past three weeks.
Overnight, FBI investigators raided Saipov's Paterson, New Jersey apartment, where he lives with his wife and three kids, the youngest of whom is three months old
It's unclear how long Saipov has lived at the address in New Jersey, he seemed to float between Ohio, Florida and New Jersey
A member of the media knocks on the door next to Saipov's apartment on Wednesday
An FBI investigator carries a bag of evidence away from Saipov's home on Wednesday
Trump tweeted Wednesday night that he spoke with the president of Argentina about the five victims who died in the attack on Tuesday
He also tweeted that the US 'will be immediately implementing much tougher Extreme Vetting Procedures'
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told CNN on Wednesday that Saipov 'radicalized domestically' after moving to America seven years ago, where he had worked as a commercial truck driver and Uber driver.
Reports say that Saipov attended a 'suspicious' New Jersey mosque.
Saipov married in 2013 and has since fathered three children - the youngest of whom is three months old. Overnight, FBI agents raided the couple's Paterson, New Jersey home.
On October 28, Saipov was spotted on the George Washington Bridge, the crossing at the far northern tip of the island between New Jersey and New York.
That same day, his EZ-pass recorded him driving through the Holland Tunnel (which also links New Jersey and New York) twice. The Holland Tunnel is located in lower Manhattan, near where Saipov started his rampage on Tuesday.
