David Hoose, of Northampton, who is terror suspect Alexander Ciccolo's attorney spoke with reporters outside Federal court in Springfield Tuesday shortly after a U.S. Magistrate ordered Ciccolo held without bail.
Ciccolo is being held at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls Rhode Island.
Ciccolo, is alleged to have stabbed a nurse in the head with a pen shortly after he was brought to the Franklin County Jail in Greenfield after his arrest July 4th. Hoose said Ciccolo regrets assaulting the nurse.
Hoose would not comment on reports Ciccolo has a history of mental illness. He would not discuss defense strategy in the case.
So far, Ciccolo is charged with being a felon in possession of weapons. But government papers filed with the court said he was plotting a terrorist attack on a university.
During the 40 minute hearing Tuesday the prosecution played what Asst. U.S. Atty Kevin O'Regan said was a nine minute excerpt of a 90 minute interview the FBI conducted with Ciccolo after his arrest. During the portion played in court, a soft-spoken Ciccolo said the Islamic state known as ISIL " is doing a good thing" He said the U.S. is " unjust."
Hoose, in arguing to release Ciccolo into the custody of his mother and stepfather, who were in court, said no threats of violence were made by the defendent during the portion of the interview played in court.
He said the mother and stepfather live a remote part of the Berkshires. He would not reveal the exact location.
Update: Alexander Ciccolo is being kept in custody until his trial. Saying the risks are great if Ciccolo is released, U.S. Magistrate Katherine Robertson ordered detention without bail around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
A detention hearing is scheduled this afternoon for an Adams, Massachusetts man federal authorities say was planning an attack in support of the Islamic State group. The 23-year-old son of a Boston Police captain was arrested July 4th outside his apartment in the small Berkshire County town.The federal government says Alexander Ciccolo, who also goes by Ali Al Amriki, planned an attack using pressure cooker bombs and other explosives at a college campus no later than July 31st, an idea authorities say he got from the Boston Marathon bombing which his father reportedly responded to. Authorities say he also planned to execute students shown over a live internet broadcast. Ciccolo was arrested outside his Murray Street apartment on July 4th after getting four guns from a witness cooperating with law enforcement. Since Ciccolo was convicted of drunk driving in February, for which he could have served more than a year in prison, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm. That charge is the only one Ciccolo is currently facing.
On Monday the Department of Justice announced why Ciccolo was arrested, taking some neighbors like Dan Barrett by surprise.
“It’s obviously a small town,” Barrett said. “Everybody knows everybody so when there’s random terrorist activity on your street it’s a little bit of a shock.”
Many people in the town of roughly 8,000 were out and about walking by television trucks from Boston, Albany and Springfield parked on Murray Street Monday night. One woman pushing a stroller said she used to see Ciccolo walking on the street. She said he seemed normal, but kept to himself. Another woman who says she’s lived across the street from Ciccolo’s apartment for 10 years said she had never seen him before. Sharon Lockhart-Rowe lives on the corner of Murray and Summer Streets. She say ambulances, hazmat and law enforcement vehicles filled Murray Street for most of the July 4th holiday without explanation for more than a week after.
“It’s really frustrating that even the property owner wasn’t being given information about what was happening,” Lockhart-Rowe said. “This was a rental property. He was not being given any kind of information on what was in his property…what kind of dangers might the rest of his tenants might be going through. It’s concerning for a variety of reasons both for safety and security worries as well as the non-transparency of what’s happening.”
The Western Massachusetts Terrorism Task Force made the arrest. Police Chief Michael Wynn says the Pittsfield Police Department has one officer assigned to the force. Wynn says his department receives a lot of information regarding areas of concern now that foreign jihadists are increasingly encouraging lone-wolf attacks.
“Upstate New York, southern Vermont and western Mass[achusetts] are the types of areas that you’re going to find this type of activity,” Wynn said. “It’s much more discreet. So unfortunately that’s not a surprise.”
Wynn says if something seems suspicious, tell the proper authorities.
According to two law enforcement officials cited by the Associated Press, Ciccolo’s father, Boston Police Captain Robert Ciccolo, alerted the FBI last fall that his son had a long history of mental illness and was talking about joining the Islamic State. The family released a statement Monday saying they were saddened and disappointed to learn of their son’s intentions, but grateful authorities prevented any loss of life or harm to others. The U.S. Attorney’s office says a close acquaintance told authorities Ciccolo had become obsessed with Islam and is “not afraid to die for the cause.”
The government details Ciccolo’s alleged support for the terrorist group and initial desires to attack civilians, members of the U.S. military and law enforcement outside of Massachusetts through social media posts as well as conversations with the cooperating witness.
Authorities say Ciccolo bought a pressure cooker from the Walmart in North Adams on July 3rd, a day before his arrest. A search of his apartment after his arrest uncovered several partially made Molotov cocktails. The government says they contained what appeared to be shredded Styrofoam soaking in motor oil, which Ciccolo said would cause fire from the explosion to stick to people’s skin. Authorities say Ciccolo was taken to the Franklin County House of Correction where he grabbed a pen and stabbed a nurse in the head.
Northampton lawyer David Hoose is representing Ciccolo. Hoose said he didn’t have anything to say when reached Tuesday morning.
Click here for the documents provided by the federal government regarding Alexander Ciccolo.
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