Maine man pleads guilty in New Year’s Eve machete attack near Times Square

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A Maine man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder charges, admitting he tried to kill three police officers with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve a year ago. Twenty-year-old Trevor Bickford of Wells, Maine, entered the plea Thursday in Manhattan federal court. He said he was sorry for the attack, which left three officers injured. Authorities say he had studied radical Islamic ideology and decided at the time to wage jihad against U.S. officers. Together, the charges carry a potential penalty of up to 120 years in prison. Bickford is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11.