NEW YORK (AP) – A man who opened fire on a crowded Brooklyn subway train last year, injuring 10 passengers in a rush-hour attack that shocked New York City, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal terrorism charges that could land him in prison for the rest of his life.
Frank James, 63, who has posted online that he is the “prophet of doom,” admitted in federal court in Brooklyn that he pulled the trigger on a Manhattan-bound train as it traveled between stations on April 12, 2022 – a assault that prosecutors said was “intended to inflict maximum damage at the height of rush hour.”
James, dressed in a beige prison suit and reading a prepared statement, said he only intended to cause serious bodily harm, not death, but knew his actions could have been fatal.
Dressed as a maintenance worker, James fired a 9mm pistol at least 33 times after setting off a pair of smoke grenades, injuring victims aged 16 to 60 in the legs, back, buttocks and hand as the train pulled into a Sunset Park station. He then fled in the fog and confusion, sparking a 30-hour citywide manhunt that ended when he called the police on himself.
James pleaded guilty to 11 counts in his indictment, including 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack on a public transit system, one for each passenger injured. Terrorism charges carry the maximum penalty of life in prison. The other charge – firing a gun in a violent crime – carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors are trying to jail him for decades. His lawyers – arguing that his conduct was aggravated assault and not attempted murder – said he shouldn’t serve more than 18 years. James doesn’t have a plea deal.
He had previously vowed to fight the charges and refused to leave his jail cell to appear at an earlier hearing, leading Judge William F. Kuntz II to issue an order directing the US marshals to use “any force necessary to make sure James showed up. at the hearing on Tuesday.
Several victims watched the proceedings, but none wanted to speak to reporters. James expressed no remorse, but said he intends to when he is sentenced, probably this summer.
“Mr. James has accepted responsibility for his crimes since turning himself in to law enforcement,” James’ attorneys Mia Eisner-Grynberg and Amanda David said in a statement. “A fair conviction in this case will carefully balance the damage he caused with his age, health and the notoriously inadequate medical care of the Bureau of Prisons”.
Had the case gone to court, prosecutors said the evidence would have disproved James’s claim that he only intended to injure, not kill. James had been planning the attack for at least four years and attempted it months earlier, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik said.
James set off smoke grenades before firing so passengers fled to the side of the subway car, allowing him to fire more easily, Winik said. The trajectory of his shots showed he was aiming for the “central mass” for maximum lethality, he said.
The attack disrupted the ritual of the morning commute, “endangering the lives of countless New Yorkers who depend on subway safety every day,” Winik said.
Prior to the shooting, James, who is black, posted dozens of videos online ranting against race, violence, and his struggles with mental illness, sometimes adopting the moniker “Doomsayer.”
He denounced the treatment of black people and explained how frustrated he was: “I should have gotten a gun and started shooting.” In one video, he appeared to be in a crowded subway car in New York City, raising his finger to point at passengers one by one.
James, who has been incarcerated in federal prison in Brooklyn since his arrest, told Kuntz that a prison psychologist visits him once a month “to talk to me and see how I’m doing.”
James’ attorneys informed the judge on Dec. 21 that he wanted to plead guilty, a U-turn from his previous vow to fight the charges at trial.
In a prison interview with the Associated Press in August, James opened up about his lifelong struggle with mental health and the notoriety he gained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he befriended the R&B star in disgrace R. Kelly.
“It’s going to be a long affair,” James said. “People don’t have enough information yet to judge me… Overall, I’m a good person at heart. I’ve never hurt anyone.
James was arrested in Manhattan the day after the shooting after calling a police hotline to report his whereabouts. Police were already searching the area after a sharp-eyed high school photography student called in a tip about a man, thought to be the suspect, sitting on a bench with a sports bag.
Prosecutors said a treasure trove of evidence linked James to the attack. His credit card, cell phone and the key to a van he rented were found at the scene of the shooting. Officers also found the gun they believe was used in the shooting; research documents show James purchased the gun from a licensed arms dealer in Ohio in 2011.
In court documents, prosecutors suggested that James had the wherewithal to carry out multiple attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other gun-related items in a Philadelphia storage facility. The New York native lived in Milwaukee and Philadelphia before the shootings.
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Associated Press reporters Jim Mustian and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.
Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press
