A man already serving 40 years for an ISIS plot against New York City was given 50 more years for stabbing two federal prison officers, one of whom lost his right eye.
Story Highlights
- On Monday, October 19, Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 28, of Ontario, Canada, was sentenced to 50 more years in federal prison.
- In December 2020, he stabbed two corrections officers at a federal prison in Pennsylvania with a blade made from his steel desk.
- One officer lost his right eye; the second officer, a woman, was stabbed in the hand when she stepped in.
- The new term starts only after his 40-year sentence for a 2016 plot to bomb and shoot civilians in New York City ends.
Court Hands Down 50 More Years for Prison Attack
El Bahnasawy was punished for attacking officers on behalf of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the Justice Department said. On Dec. 7, 2020, inside U.S. Penitentiary Allenwood, a high-security federal prison in Pennsylvania, he broke off part of the steel desk in his cell and shaped it into a weapon. He stabbed one corrections officer in the head and face. When a second officer came to help, he stabbed her in the hand. The first officer lost his right eye.
Investigators found a note in El Bahnasawy’s sock that read, “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.” A pledge of loyalty to ISIS was taped inside a locker door in his cell. In November 2025, he pleaded guilty to assault, assault with intent to commit murder, having contraband in prison, and providing material support to ISIS. Material support means helping a terror group, including by acting for it. The new 50 years run consecutive to his earlier sentence, which means they begin only after his 40 years are served.
What Happened Inside USP Allenwood and Why It Matters
The two officers were doing their jobs, keeping order in a prison that holds some of the most dangerous men in the federal system. The Justice Department did not release their names. One will carry the loss of his eye for the rest of his life. The other was hurt because she ran toward the danger to help a fellow officer.
John A. Eisenberg, the Assistant Attorney General who heads the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said El Bahnasawy “savagely attacked corrections officers once again on behalf of ISIS.” Brian D. Miller, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, whose office prosecuted the case, said the sentence reflects his office’s commitment to fight violence carried out in the name of ISIS. The FBI’s Philadelphia office investigated the attack.
A Terror Plotter’s Record and the Law’s Response
El Bahnasawy was already serving 40 years for plotting with two other men to carry out bombings and shootings in crowded parts of New York City during Ramadan in 2016, in the name of ISIS. Prosecutors said the targets included Times Square, the subway system and concert venues. An undercover FBI agent, posing as an ISIS supporter, worked his way inside the plot. The FBI arrested El Bahnasawy in May 2016 after he traveled from Canada to the New York City area, and he has been in custody ever since.
For those who back law and order, this outcome is a clear win for the officers and for basic justice. A man who already faced decades behind bars chose to attack again. The court made sure that choice will cost him another 50 years.
Protecting Officers and Stopping Prison Violence
Corrections work is hard, dangerous and mostly unseen by the public. Officers cannot walk away when tension rises. Some of the men they guard have been shaped by terror groups and are looking for a chance to strike. A heavy sentence for an attack on staff tells every inmate that hurting an officer will add years to his time.
The case is also a reminder that the fight against terror does not end at the prison gate. A man with a pledge to ISIS taped in his locker turned a piece of furniture into a weapon. Prosecutors, wardens and courts need every lawful tool to stop that kind of attack and to punish it when it happens.
