Times Square attempted bomber gets life sentence

Shahzad boasted that he thought his bomb attack would kill at least 40 people, said he swore oath of allegiance to US but "didn't mean it."

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
311_Faisal Shahzad Times Square bomber (photo credit: Associated Press)
311_Faisal Shahzad Times Square bomber
(photo credit: Associated Press)
NEW YORK — The Pakistani immigrant who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, a mandatory penalty that left him defiant as ever and the judge who sentenced him determined to send a message to anyone who might want to follow in his path.
Faisal Shahzad came to court to tell Americans he felt no remorse about his May 1 bombing attempt, and he sparred with US District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum.
RELATED:French police arrest twelve suspected al-Qaida terroristsVideo: Recreation of Times Square bomb, 'Devastating'Opinion: Jihadi undercuts presidentCedarbaum said her sentence was very important "to protect the public from further crimes of this defendant and others who would seek to follow him."
Shahzad, 31, defended his attempt to kill Americans. During his statement before sentencing, Cedarbaum cut him off at one point to ask if he had sworn allegiance to the United States when the Pakistan-born Shahzad became an American citizen last year.
"I did swear but I did not mean it," Shahzad said.
"So you took a false oath," the judge told him.
Shahzad boasted that he thought his bomb attack would kill at least 40 people and that he planned to detonate a second bomb two weeks after the first, prosecutors said Wednesday, quoting the former financial analyst in a video where he said he'd hoped "to join my brothers in jihad" ever since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.