“In my heart, in my blood, in my head, I felt I had to do jihad against the enemies of Allah,” Amor Ftouhi said.
FLINT, Mich. — “I regret I didn’t kill that cop,” were the words of a defiant Tunisian man sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for stabbing a police lieutenant at the airport in Flint, Michigan. The sentencing decision by a federal judge said was made easier by the defendant’s insolent and angry remarks in court.
“Do I regret what I did? Never,” Amor Ftouhi, 51, told U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman. “If I had to do it one more time, I would do it. I regret I didn’t kill that cop.”
Leitman noted that Ftouhi stated he wished he were free so that he could continue to harm and kill people, NBC News reported.
“I have never imposed a sentence even close to this before,” the judge said. “I wrung my hands about whether that (life) is an appropriate sentence, but after this morning, I have no doubt whatsoever.”
In June 2017, Ftouhi shouted “Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)” before stabbing Lieutenant Jeff Neville who was working security at Bishop Flint Airport. During the attack on Neville, other officers wrestled Ftouhi to the ground and prevented him from grabbing the lieutenant’s firearm.
An FBI investigation revealed that Ftouhi—who lived in Montreal, Canada—had legally entered the United States five days prior to the attack. After arriving in the states he tried on multiple occasions to buy a firearm at a gun show.
Ftouhi, further demonstrating his defiance, said on Thursday he had hoped to obtain a machine gun, according to FOX 2 Detroit. Failing that, he used a knife to attack Neville. The lieutenant survived the attack and testified in court Thursday.
The insolent man, who holds dual Tunisian-Canadian citizenship, was convicted during a five-day trial in November.
In an unusual move, Judge Leitman interrupted Ftouhi’s statement to the court on Thursday to tell him his testimony was damaging his case. Nevertheless, Ftouhi was undeterred. Moreover, he continued to rail against the United States, his defense counsel and American Muslims who do not “care about your brothers around the world.”
“In my heart, in my blood, in my head, I felt I had to do jihad against the enemies of Allah,” Ftouhi said.
Joan Morgan, working as Ftouhi’s legal counsel, said the assailant had been depressed and mentally unstable. However, it didn’t appear to resonate with the judge.
Neville, 57, retired from his job of 37 years following the attack. He told reporters after the hearing that Ftouhi had lived a normal life up until about two years ago.
“I can’t wrap my head around it … He came to this country, to Flint, Michigan, to attack me?” Neville said. “I would have been disappointed, frankly, if he didn’t get life because he’s a really dangerous man. If he got out of prison at 70 years old, he’d still be a dangerous man.
