Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy

Introduction

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy is a Canadian citizen serving a combined 90 years in federal prison — 40 years for plotting a mass-casualty ISIS attack on New York City in 2016, and 50 more years imposed on October 19, 2026, for a 2020 attack on two corrections officers at U.S. Penitentiary Allenwood in Pennsylvania, one of whom lost his right eye. According to the Justice Department, Bahnasawy — then 20, now 28 — traveled from Ontario to the New York area in May 2016 to prepare bombings and shootings in the name of ISIS, and carried the same ideology behind prison walls nearly five years later: a note found in his sock after the 2020 attack read, “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.” He pleaded guilty to the prison attack in November 2025.

Background Information

Federal prosecutors say Bahnasawy plotted with Talha Haroon, a U.S. citizen residing in Pakistan, and Russell Salic, a Philippine citizen, to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during Ramadan in 2016 — targets including Times Square, the subway system and concert venues — all in the name of ISIS. He acquired bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of the city to build explosive devices and stage the attacks, and spoke, in the Justice Department’s words, of wanting to “create the next 9/11.” An undercover FBI agent infiltrated the plot posing as an ISIS supporter. Bahnasawy was arrested in May 2016 after traveling from Canada to the New York City area to prepare the attacks, and he has been in custody ever since; he was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in 2018.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced. Bahnasawy pleaded guilty to the prison attack in November 2025, so no trial was contested; the facts below are drawn from Justice Department announcements and court reporting of the sentencing.

The attack came on December 7, 2020, while Bahnasawy was serving his 40-year terrorism sentence at USP Allenwood. Prosecutors say he used a weapon made from part of a steel desk in his cell to stab a corrections officer in the head and face; when a second officer responded to assist, he stabbed her in the hand. The first officer eventually lost his right eye as a result of the injuries. When Bahnasawy was restrained, a note was found in his sock reading “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State,” and a pledge of allegiance to ISIS was discovered taped inside a locker door in his cell.

On November 4, 2025, Bahnasawy — listed as 27 at the time — pleaded guilty to multiple counts of assault, assault with intent to commit murder, and possession of contraband inside a prison, as well as providing material support to ISIS; the Justice Department noted the maximum penalty for the offenses ran to 130 years. The sentence came on October 19, 2026: 50 years in prison, ordered to run consecutively to the 40-year term, for a combined 90 years behind bars. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Bahnasawy “savagely attacked corrections officers once again on behalf of ISIS” and that the sentence “will further ensure that Bahnasawy remains in prison, where he can do much less harm, for a very long time.”

His attorney, Andy Frisch, disputed the terrorism framing and blamed the assault on his client’s longstanding mental illness. “He’s not a terrorist,” Frisch told the New York Post, saying a government expert had confirmed diagnoses including schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, and that his parents’ repeated emails to prison officials about the medication and treatment he required went unheeded — “Those emails were ignored,” he said. Frisch argued a psychotic episode produced the attack, said federal authorities failed to provide adequate psychiatric care, and said Bahnasawy and his parents “are considering their options” on appeal.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Federal officials framed the sentence as accountability for violence committed in prison. U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said, “We will prosecute those who aid, attempt to aid, or commit violence on behalf of the pernicious ISIS ideology wherever they may be found,” adding that the sentence reflected “our unwavering commitment to fight those who perpetrate violence in the name of ISIS even behind prison walls.” FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Jarod Brown called it “a horrific attack on two corrections officers in the name of ISIS, which they fortunately survived,” and said violent attacks by ISIS supporters “cannot be tolerated by our society.”

The case drew renewed attention in Canada, where Bahnasawy’s mother, Khadiga Metwally, is running for the Halton District School Board in Milton, Ontario. She has blamed American authorities for her son’s conviction, telling the Toronto Sun in 2019 that he was “manipulated by FBI with the help of [Royal Canadian Mounted Police]” while manic and untreated, and her campaign profile touted mental-health compassion drawn from “personal family experience” — while omitting any mention of the son serving 90 years in the United States.

Current Status

Bahnasawy, 28, is serving a combined 90-year sentence — the new 50-year term runs consecutively to the 40-year term — and has been in federal custody continuously since his May 2016 arrest. He pleaded guilty, so the prison-attack convictions are final; his attorney says he and his parents are considering an appeal. Both corrections officers survived the attack, though the first was permanently blinded in his right eye. The Justice Department said the case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey MacArthur with National Security Division attorneys.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A sentence of 90 years means the remainder of Bahnasawy’s life will be spent in federal prison; the resentencing guarantee from the Justice Department is that he will “remain in prison, where he can do much less harm, for a very long time.” The case became a reference point for the danger officials say persists behind prison walls — a plotter arrested before he could hurt anyone in 2016 who still carried out an ISIS-framed attack on officers six years into his term. It also permanently marked two corrections officers’ lives, one of them with the loss of an eye.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, “ISIS-Inspired Terrorist Sentenced for Attacking Guards While Serving Sentence for Separate NYC Terror Plot,” October 19, 2026 — source
U.S. Department of Justice, “Inmate Pleads Guilty to Assault on Corrections Officers,” November 4, 2025 — source
New York Post, “ISIS terrorist who plotted NYC mass slaughter gets 50 more years for blinding prison guard,” October 19, 2026 — source
New York Post, “Convicted NYC terrorist’s mom runs for school board in same Canadian suburb where teacher wore fake Z-cup breasts in class,” September 10, 2026 — source
2822News (WBRE/WYOU), “Would-be NYC ISIS attacker sentenced for prison assault,” October 19, 2026 — source