WELLS, Maine — Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells is currently being held in New York while he awaits a Supreme Court arraignment scheduled for Feb. 1.
He told the U.S. Department of Justice he planned to kill people and wanted to die for his attack. He told the agency he failed his mission.
- Attempted Murder in the First Degree (3 counts)
- Attempted Murder in the First Degree in Furtherance of an Act of Terrorism (3 counts)
- Assault in the First Degree as a Crime of Terrorism (1 count)
- Assault in the First Degree (1 count)
- Aggravated assault on a Police Officer as a Crime of Terrorism (1 count)
- Aggravated assault on a Police Officer (1 count)
- Attempted Assault in the First Degree as a Crime of Terrorism (2 counts)
- Attempted Assault in the First Degree (2 counts)
- Attempted aggravated Assault upon a Police Officer as a Crime of Terrorism (2 counts)
- Attempted aggravated Assault upon a Police Officer (2 counts)
According to that release, Bickford began accessing and consuming materials "espousing radically Islamic ideologies" as early as the summer of 2022.
It also said Bickford told family members he wanted to travel to the Middle East to support the Taliban and be a suicide bomber.
Instead of going abroad, Bickford traveled from Wells to New York City to carry out his attack, the DOJ alleged.
Bickford, 19, graduated from Wells High School in 2022. Neighbors told NEWS CENTER Maine he had a rough upbringing and that his parents split up years ago. His father died five years ago.
Bickford played football and wrestled for WHS. The superintendent for the school system said it will not be commenting on the case.
Dr. Asif Nawaz who studies extremism and terrorism for University of Maine, said Bickford's age, isolation, and family dynamic made him a prime target for online extremism groups.
Dr. Nawaz also said more resources need to be implemented at the local level to intervene and help youth who fall into extremism online.
"I am not asking you to empathize with a terrorist," Dr. Nawaz said. "I am saying that in order to curb this home-grown radicalization, we need to have a very, very comprehensive look from the bottom up, not top-down; bottom-up change in which a dialogue needs to happen."
If Bickford is convicted on all his charges he faces up to 80 years in prison.