A Mississauga man already serving 40 years in a U.S. prison for plotting terrorist attacks in New York City has been sentenced to another 50 years behind bars after stabbing two correctional officers.
Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 28, was sentenced on Oct. 19 following an attack at the United States Penitentiary Allenwood in Pennsylvania in December 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The additional sentence will run consecutively to his existing 40-year term, bringing his combined prison sentences to 90 years.
The attack happened on Dec. 7, 2020, while El Bahnasawy was serving his original sentence for his role in an ISIS-inspired plot targeting heavily populated areas of New York City.
According to prosecutors, El Bahnasawy fashioned a weapon from part of a steel desk in his cell and used it to attack two correctional officers. He stabbed one officer in the head and face, then stabbed a second officer in the hand when she intervened.
The first officer ultimately lost his right eye as a result of the injuries.
After El Bahnasawy was restrained, authorities found a note in his sock stating, “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.” A pledge of allegiance to ISIS was also found taped inside a locker door in his cell, the Justice Department said.
El Bahnasawy pleaded guilty in November 2025 to multiple charges related to the assault, including assault with intent to commit murder, as well as possessing contraband in prison and providing material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
The new sentence follows a case that began in 2016, when El Bahnasawy was arrested after travelling from Canada to the New York City area as authorities investigated a planned terrorist attack.
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U.S. prosecutors said El Bahnasawy conspired with two other men to carry out bombings and shootings in crowded parts of New York City during Ramadan. The targets included Times Square and the city’s subway system.
An undercover FBI agent had infiltrated the group, posing as an ISIS supporter willing to participate in the attacks. El Bahnasawy was arrested in May 2016 and has remained in custody since then.
He was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to terrorism-related charges.
El Bahnasawy’s case has also drawn attention in Halton Region because his mother, Khdiga R. Metwally, is running for Halton District School Board trustee in Milton’s Wards 1 and 2 in the Oct. 26 municipal election.
Metwally, an educator and founder of the Canadian Centre for Training and Consultation, addressed the scrutiny surrounding her son’s case in an interview with The Trillium in September. She argued that her candidacy should be assessed on her own qualifications and experience, rather than her son’s actions.
She has also spoken publicly about her son’s mental health history and concerns about his treatment while incarcerated in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the latest sentence reflects the seriousness of the prison assault and El Bahnasawy’s stated support for ISIS. The additional 50-year term will be served after the sentence he is already serving for the New York terror plot.
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