NEWS

Airport attack suspect chants ‘Allahu Akbar’ in court

Robert Snell
The Detroit News

Flint — The terror suspect accused in the stabbing of a police officer last month at Bishop International Airport was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges that could send him to prison for life.

Amor M. Ftouhi, a 49-year-old Tunisian national who resides in Montreal, injected a bit of drama into a brief appearance in federal court after the indictment, chanting “Allahu Akbar” five times while shuffling into the courtroom, wearing a white T-shirt, orange pants, handcuffs and ankle chains.

Amor M. Ftouhi, the suspect at the center of a possible terrorism attack at Flint’s Bishop International Airport.

Then, he stood mute on charges in the latest terror investigation in a region that has seen a handful of terrorism prosecutions in recent years, including underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The indictment Wednesday did not charge Ftouhi with terrorism.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis entered a not-guilty plea on Ftouhi’s behalf to charges stemming from what the FBI describes as an attack in the Flint airport last month.

There was an unusually heavy security presence inside a federal courtroom filled with at least seven news reporters, a sketch artist and an Arabic interpreter. Ftouhi was encircled by five security officers while being escorted back to an undisclosed correctional facility.

His lawyer, Joan Morgan, could not be reached for comment after the hearing.

The indictment adds one new charge: using a dangerous weapon to interfere with airport security and comes two weeks after Ftouhi was arrested in what is being investigated as a possible terror attack. He is being held without bond on a charge of violence at an international airport, which is punishable by up to 20 years behind bars.

Ftouhi is accused of stabbing Bishop airport police Lt. Jeff Neville with a 12-inch knife.

A witness said Ftouhi walked up to the airport police officer, yelled “Allahu Akbar,” pulled out a knife, stabbed the officer in the neck and said, ‘You have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die,’ ” according to the federal criminal complaint against Ftouhi.

He has not been arraigned.

The suspect allegedly carried out the attack at 9:38 a.m. June 21, nearly an hour after he entered the airport carrying a red duffel and a dark satchel.

He entered a second-floor restroom, then left without the two bags seconds before he attacked the police officer, authorities said.

The wounded officer has been released from the hospital. Ftouhi also allegedly asked another officer who came to the assistance of Neville and subdued Ftouhi why the officer did not kill him, according to the federal complaint.

Federal authorities say Ftouhi acted alone and that the suspect “wanted to identify” an international airport to carry out his attack but officials declined to say what made him pick Flint.

Ftouhi is believed by authorities to have traveled to the United States legally from Canada on June 16 through Lake Champlain, New York, and then entered Michigan on June 18.

The suspect allegedly unsuccessfully tried to buy a firearm in the United States. Ftouhi is a married father of three and worked as a trucker until two weeks ago.

He has lived in Canada for the past decade.

Oralandar Brand-Williams and Jennifer Chambers contributed.