On Wednesday. the White House labeled New York City terrorist Sayfullo Saipov as an enemy combatant. If the administration chooses to treat him as such, he’ll be tried in military court. President Trump indicated that he would be willing to send Saipov to rot in Guantanamo Bay.
“We also have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. They’ll go through court for years and, at the end, who knows what happens,” Trump said.
“We need quick justice and we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now,” Mr. Trump said. “What we have right now is a joke and it’s a laughingstock. No wonder so much of this stuff takes place.”
Saipov killed eight people and injured 11 more when he plowed a truck into a Manhattan bike path. He managed to cling to his own life and is now recovering in a local hospital.
“I believe we would consider this person to be an enemy combatant, yes,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “I think the actions that he took certainly justify that.”
Trump isn’t the only conservative who wants Saipov to be tried in military court. Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain both urged the president to label Saipov an enemy combatant.
“If you take up arms against the United States in the name of radical Islam, you should be treated as a terrorist,” Graham said.
“It appears the Trump administration is continuing the Obama policy of criminalizing the war on terror… It’s ridiculous to believe that one day of interviews in a hospital tells us all we need to know about Saipov’s terrorist ties. Now that he’s lawyered up, that will likely be the end of intelligence gathering except through plea bargaining.”
Federal charges don’t preclude the government from moving the case to military court.
(Source: Washington Times)