FILE PHOTO: Amor Ftouhi, arrested in connection with the stabbing of a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters June 29, 2017. FBI/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - A man accused of stabbing a police officer at a Michigan airport last year was convicted in U.S. federal court on Tuesday of charges including terrorism, a court official said.

A jury in Flint, Michigan, found Amor Ftouhi guilty on charges of committing an act of violence at an international airport, interference with airport security and committing an act of terrorism, the court said.

Ftouhi's defense did not present a case and the jury took just more than an hour to reach its verdict, the court said. Ftouhi had pleaded not guilty and the trial began last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The defendant's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sentencing is set for March 7. Ftouhi, who holds dual Tunisian-Canadian citizenship, faces up to life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count. U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman, who presided over the trial, will impose sentencing.

Ftouhi was originally charged last year with violence at an international airport for stabbing Jeff Neville, an officer at the Bishop International Airport in Flint, in the neck, authorities said.

In March, a federal grand jury indicted Ftouhi on a terrorism charge stemming from the attack.

Federal prosecutors said that on June 21, 2017, Ftouhi approached Neville at the airport and stabbed him, shouting: "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)," and referencing killings in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. After his arrest, Ftouhi told officials he was a 'soldier of Allah' and subscribed to the ideology of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, prosecutors said.

Ftouhi legally entered the United States from Lake Champlain, New York, on June 16 before making his way to Flint, the FBI said. Officials said Ftouhi targeted a city with an international airport, but declined to say why Flint was chosen.

"They rendered the correct verdict in my eyes," Neville, the police officer who was stabbed, told reporters, adding the verdict gave him some peace.

"I would rather be working at the airport right now," said Neville, who is trying to pursue a career in real estate. "I really liked my job and it really pains me that I'm not going to be able to do that anymore." </s> A Tunisian man living in Montreal who drove to Flint’s Bishop Airport and stabbed an airport police officer has been convicted of terrorism and other crimes in federal court. Amor Ftouhi attacked Lt. Jeff Neville at the Flint airport in June of 2017. Neville was seriously injured, but survived. Ftouhi was convicted of three crimes on Tuesday.

Investigators said Ftouhi’s plan was to stab Neville , take his gun and shoot people in the airport. He had driven to Flint five days after entering the U.S. by way of the entry point in Champlain, New York. He tried to buy a gun at a gun show, but failed, instead purchasing a large knife. </s> "Amor M. Ftouhi, 51, of Quebec, Canada, was found guilty of three crimes, including an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, in conjunction with an attack on a Bishop Airport officer in Flint, Michigan on June 21, 2017," the release said on Tuesday.

On the day of the incident, according to the release, Ftouhi stabbed the police officer in the neck twice while referring to killings in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan while yelling "Allahu Akbar." After his arrest, Ftouhi told law enforcement that he subscribed to the ideology of Al Qaeda and planned to kill other police officers in the airport after stealing the victim's gun.

Before the attack, Ftouhi had conducted online research of US gun laws before travelling to Michigan where he was unsuccessful in repeated attempts to buy a firearm. </s> FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A man who drove to Michigan from Montreal and stabbed an airport police officer has been convicted of terrorism and other crimes.

It was a slam dunk for federal prosecutors: Witnesses saw Amor Ftouhi attack Lt. Jeff Neville at the Flint airport and wrestled him to the ground.

Ftouhi was convicted of three crimes Tuesday. He’s a Tunisian who was living in Montreal at the time of the June 2017 stabbing.

Investigators say Ftouhi wanted to stab Neville , take his gun and start shooting people in the airport. He legally drove into the U.S. at Champlain, New York, and arrived in Flint five days later. He tried but failed to buy a gun at a gun show and instead bought a large knife. </s> U.S. prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a Canadian man who was convicted of terrorism for nearly killing an airport police officer.

Amor Ftouhi is returning to federal court on Thursday, April 18.

He drove 1,000 miles from Montreal in 2017 and arrived at Bishop International Airport in Flint, where he repeatedly stabbed Lt. Jeff Neville.

Federal investigators say Ftouhi wanted to get Neville's gun and shoot people at the airport. But his lawyer says he wasn't attempting to create mass casualties. Joan Morgan says Ftouhi wanted to be killed so his family could collect life insurance and he could become a martyr. </s> Montreal man convicted of terrorism in Michigan airport stabbing

Witnesses saw Amor Ftouhi attack Lt. Jeff Neville at the Flint airport and wrestled him to the ground. </s> FLINT, MI – Amor Ftouhi told U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman he was not sorry for stabbing an officer at Flint’s Bishop Airport.

The 51-year-old Ftouhi entered the courtroom Thursday morning chanting “Allahu Akbar” and telling his interpreter to shut up as he did not require her translation.

“Do I regret what I did? Never,” said Ftouhi. “If I have to do (it) one more time, I’ll do it but not without a machine gun. I regret I didn’t kill that cop.”

He was found guilty in November 2018 on single counts of committing an act of violence at an international airport, interference with airport security and committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

The judge handed down life sentences on the interference and terrorism charges and a 240-month sentence on the act of violence charge.

Ftouhi, 51, stabbed Bishop Airport Lt. Jeff Neville the morning of June 21, 2017 while the now-retired officer was on duty in the airport terminal.

Defense attorneys had asked for a 25-year prison sentence, arguing Ftouhi had become depressed due to financial circumstances and alleged discrimination that prevented him from finding steady employment upon moving to Canada in the mid-2000s.

Flint airport stabber’s attorney asks for reduced, 25-year prison sentence In a sentencing memorandum filed Thursday, April 11 with the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Ftouhi’s attorneys seek a 25-year prison sentence. Sentencing guidelines on all counts call for a life sentence.

“He hasn’t shown any remorse thus far, so I’m not really surprised,” said Neville after the judge gave his sentencing. “It would be hollow if he expressed remorse (now).”

Neville was released from the hospital five days after the incident. He officially retired in late February from Bishop Airport after serving with there since 2001. Neville worked for the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office from 1982-99.

He told the court he does suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the attack that has left a noticeable scar on the right side of his neck.

When asked how often he thinks about the events of that day, Neville said “I think about it constantly because I have a loss of feeling in my face,” describing it as a numbness like traveling to the dentist’s office but “it never goes away.”

“I don’t hate him. I said that from the beginning,” said Neville of Ftouhi, recalling being asked the question during a visit to the Flint Islamic Center one week after the attack. “I said that day I don’t hate that man. The reason I say that man is because I won’t say his name. I don’t hate him, but I won’t say his name. I just feel there’s too much hate in the world.”

Ftouhi has 14 days to file an appeal. </s> April 19 (UPI) -- A Canadian citizen was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing a police officer in the neck at a Michigan airport in 2017.

Amor Ftouhi, 51, was charged with an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, violence at an international airport and interference with airport security and was convicted by a federal jury in 2018, CNN reported.

In 2017, Ftouhi stabbed airport security Lt. Jeff Neville twice in the neck with a knife while yelling that God is great in Arabic with the plan to steal Neville's gun to kill people at Flint, Michigan's Bishop International Airport.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in his sentencing memo that Ftouhi had planned the attack at least months before it took place while living in Montreal, Canada, where he emigrated to from Tunisia in 2007.

Ftouhi had entered the United States from Canada legally through New York on June 16, 2017, before entering Michigan two days later.

During sentencing Thursday in federal court, Federal Judge Matthew Leitman handed down the life sentence after Ftouhi said he did not regret his crimes and that he'd do them again, WXYZ Detroit reported.

Ftouhi told the judge that he regretted not having a machine gun that day so he could have killed a lot of people including officer Neville, WSMH reported.

He also told Leitman that he still had jihad in his heart.

Following the sentencing, Neville, who had since left the force and suffers from PTSD from the attack, said, "I would have been disappointed if he didn't get life because he's really a dangerous man, because I think if he got out of prison at 70-years-old he'd still be a dangerous man."

Defense Attorney Joan Morgan argued for a 25-year sentence, calming his client had mental issues. </s> FLINT, Mich. — A Canadian man convicted of terrorism for nearly killing an airport police officer in Michigan was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.

U.S. prosecutors said Amor Ftouhi drove 1,000 miles from Montreal to the airport in Flint, Michigan, where he yelled “God is great” in Arabic and repeatedly stabbed Lt. Jeff Neville in 2017.

Investigators said Ftouhi wanted to stab Neville, take his gun and start shooting people in the airport. He legally drove into the U.S. at Champlain, New York, and arrived in Flint five days later. He tried but failed to buy a gun at a gun show and instead bought a large knife.

Prosecutors have said he told investigators his “mission was to kill and be killed.”

FBI: Stabbing suspect in Michigan days before airport attack, unable to buy gun

His defense lawyer, Joan Morgan, said Ftouhi wasn’t attempting to create mass casualties and wanted to be killed so his family could collect life insurance and so he could become a martyr.

Before sentencing, Ftouhi told the judge he had no regrets and only wished he could have acquired a machine gun that day to kill Neville and others.

Ftouhi, who moved to Canada in 2007, was convicted in November. He was sentenced in a federal courtroom in Flint by U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman.

The case was a slam dunk for federal prosecutors, who sought a life sentence. They noted that witnesses saw Ftouhi attack Neville and wrestled him to the ground.
Amor Ftouhi is found guilty of three federal charges in the stabbing of an airport police officer last year in Flint, Michigan.