Boston man plotted Islamic State beheading, prosecutors say

BOSTON – Federal prosecutors on Tuesday said a Massachusetts man accused of plotting to attack police and behead a conservative blogger was a passionate supporter of the Islamic State militant group who recruited people including his own uncle into the scheme.

The prosecutors contend that David Wright, 28, along with his uncle and a friend had plotted to kill the blogger, a woman who organized a 2015 "Draw Mohammed" contest in Garland, Texas. They said the plan unraveled when the uncle, Usamaah Abdullah Rahim, lost patience and said he wanted to kill police officers instead.

"The defendant was a sophisticated recruiter, he manipulated people, including his own uncle, into believing that they needed to join ISIS and kill Americans," said Assistant US Attorney Stephanie Siegmann, using a common acronym to refer to Islamic State.

"The defendant was committed to ISIS and he knew exactly what he was doing," Siegmann said in prosecutors' closing statements at Wright's trial in Boston federal court.