An Everett man and his alleged co-conspirator pleaded not guilty in Boston Federal Court on Friday during a detention hearing where Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell ordered them held without bail.
Both men were charged with the felony charge of conspiring to provide material support to a dangerous foreign terrorist organization.
Both denied any such charges and statements from their families disputed the charges.
David Wright, 24, of Linden Street, was arrested on June 2 after his uncle, Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, of Roslindale, was shot by Boston Police and FBI agents on the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Allegedly, Rahim, Wright and a third man from Rhode Island had plotted to behead and kill anti-ISIS blogger Pamela Geller in New York City. However, Rahim allegedly changed plans on June 2 and told Wright he planned to behead “boys in blue” – or police officers – around Boston.
Wright was arrested that same day and has cooperated with authorities, but was only formally arraigned on charges late last week.
That third man, Nicholas Alexander Rovinsky, 24, of Warwick, RI, was charged of the same crime alongside Wright in Federal Court Friday. He, also, pleaded not guilty, but was held without bail.
The three men allegedly met on a Rhode Island beach in late May to cement and plan the plot to behead Geller, who has a bounty on her head placed by ISIS leaders.
She is famous for leading a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas that ended in a shootout between suspected terrorists and police.
While the events have shaken up Everett to an extent – especially the Linden Street area – Mayor Carlo DeMaria said he would be giving his full support to the authorities and praised their actions for stopping the plot before it unfolded.
“I commend the actions of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI, and the Boston and Everett Police Departments for their hard work and action in keeping the City of Everett and the Commonwealth safe,” said the mayor. “Unfortunately, facing threats to our security from those that wish to do us harm has become part of our reality – I am gratified that we have the men and women of the JTTF and the Everett Police there to meet that threat and ensure our way of life. As citizens, we all owe them our collective thanks. I will continue to do all I can to support the hard work of law enforcement and will closely monitor this case as it develops.”