NEW YORK _ The man charged with detonating a makeshift pipe bomb in the New York transit system was radicalized through internet propaganda and told investigators, "I did it for the Islamic State," according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court Tuesday.
Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old legal permanent resident from Bangladesh, set off the explosive in a passageway connecting two major subway stations during the morning rush hour Monday, injuring himself and four others.
The four people injured included three who experienced ringing of the ears and headaches and a fourth who fell to the ground while leaving the scene.
Ullah was charged with five counts, including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, using and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, bombing a place of public use, destroying property by means of an explosive, and using a destructive device to further a crime of violence, according to a criminal complaint.
The charges were announced by Joon H. Kim, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Investigators said Ullah posted on Facebook on the morning of the attack, "Trump, you failed to protect your nation." Kim said Tuesday that Ullah had also made statements to investigators about issues he had with American policy in the Middle East, but did not provide further details.
The 10-page complaint says Ullah, who was taken to Bellevue Hospital after the explosion, admitted to building the pipe bomb and to carrying out the attack.
Ullah was admitted to the United States in 2011 under the fourth family preference for immigrant visas, which is for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children.
He held a for-hire vehicle driver's license with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission from 2012 to 2015 and is reported to have worked as an electrician most recently.
Ullah began becoming radicalized in 2014, through internet propaganda disseminated by Islamic State, the complaint alleges. He began researching how to build improvised explosive devices online about a year ago and started gathering materials for Monday's attack two to three weeks ago.
Law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to search Ullah's home in Brooklyn on Monday, where they found metal pipes, pieces of wires, fragments of what appear to be Christmas lights and metal screws consistent with bomb materials recovered at the scene of the attack, the complaint says.
They also found his passport with multiple handwritten notes, including one with the message, "O America, die in your rage."
Ullah remains at Bellevue Hospital. Kim said his first appearance will probably be a "bedside presentment" later Tuesday or Wednesday.
