Canadian ISIS-linked inmate receives additional 50-year sentence for prison stabbing

Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a resident of Ontario, Canada, was already incarcerated for a 40-year sentence related to ISIS-inspired terror plots in New York City. On Dec. 7, 2020, while held at the federal penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, he used a piece of a steel desk to stab a correctional officer in the head and face, causing the loss of an eye, and stabbed a second officer in the hand as she intervened. Officers discovered a note in his sock stating, “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.”

After pleading guilty in November 2025 to assault with intent to commit murder and providing material support to ISIS, a judge imposed an additional 50-year term, to be served after his existing sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said the sentence ensures the terrorist remains locked up, while FBI counterterrorism assistant director Jarod Brown emphasized that such violent acts by extremist supporters will not be tolerated.