The son of the Boston police captain sentenced to 20 years of terrorism: NPR

The son of a Boston police captain was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison for a terrorist plot inspired by the Islamic State – three years after his father had warned the forces of the Islamic State. federal order.

Alexander Ciccolo, 26, called Ali Al Amriki. His father, Robert Ciccolo, noted his son's admiration for the terrorist group and alerted the FBI.

The young Ciccolo was arrested in July 2015 after an undercover operation during which he accepted illegal firearms because of a previous conviction. According to statements by federal prosecutors, he also discussed plans to fill the pressure cookers with black powder, nails and ball bearings. When the security forces searched his apartment, they found partially manufactured Molotov cocktails.

In May, Ciccolo pleaded guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist group, attempting to use weapons of mass destruction, possessing firearms and assaulting a nurse during a prison process.

"Alexander Ciccolo has planned to kill innocent civilians in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State," said prosecutor Andrew Lelling in the statement. "Even though he was born and spent most of his life in Massachusetts, Ciccolo decided to turn against his country and plotted to attack his American compatriots."

According to a LinkedIn profile, Robert Ciccolo has 35 years of experience in law enforcement agencies and private state and local agencies. According to CBS, he oversaw more than two dozen officers during the Boston Marathon bombings.

His son was inspired by the marathon bombers.

Federal prosecutors acknowledged the captain's difficulty in informing his son's authorities. "The government recognizes that Captain Ciccolo's decision to come forward has been heartbreaking," they said in a sentencing memorandum filed Friday. But because of this "agonizing" decision, Ciccolo "probably saved the lives of many innocent people".

"Obviously, he struggled with [his son], and he could not clear it up, "Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told WBUR in 2015." Maybe being locked up now was the best thing. Maybe he'll get the proper medical care he needs. "

Ciccolo's mother, Shelley MacInnes, told New England Public Radio in 2017 that she did not agree with her husband's decision to go to the FBI. She said that her son had addiction problems and "had a deep respect for all living things, I'm sure some people say," Yeah, that's true. "But it would literally not hurt a fly. "

Ciccolo's parents divorced when he was young and he moved from his mother's home in Cape Code to his father's home in Boston when he was 14, according to NEPR.

A spokesman for the Boston Police Department Police Department told NPR: "It would be a personal family affair, so the Boston police would not make any official comment." A spokesman said the captain did not want to speak with the media.

In addition to the time of prison, Ciccolo was also sentenced to a life of supervised release.

"Make no mistake," said FBI chief agent Harold Shaw in a statement. "Alexander Ciccolo was a committed soldier of the Islamic State who wanted to kill innocent people at an American university with guns and pressure cookers, who did not understand the seriousness of what he was doing."