NEW YORK — Frank James, accused of opening fire on a packed New York City subway car in April, has been indicted on terrorism charges by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn.
James has been held since his April 13 arrest following a 30-hour manhunt. He is accused of detonating two smoke canisters inside a Brooklyn subway station during the morning rush on April 12 and then firing a Glock handgun at least 33 times, injuring 10 people.
James had been initially charged with one count of committing a terrorist act on a mass transit system. Late Friday, federal prosecutors added an additional charge, accusing James of discharging a firearm during a violent crime.
If convicted of the terrorism count, James faces a term as long as life in prison, according to Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for New York’s Eastern District in Brooklyn.
If convicted of the gun charge, James faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a possible life sentence, said John Marzulli, a spokesman for Peace.
After James was arrested, he was brought before a federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn who ordered James held without bail. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge William Kuntz and no date has been set for James’s arraignment, when he will enter a plea, according to Marzulli.
Mia Eisner-Grynberg, a lawyer with the Federal Defender’s office representing James, didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment about the indictment.
After her client’s initial court appearance on April 14, Eisner-Grynberg called the incident “a tragedy.” She added “it is a blessing that it was not worse” and cautioned against “a rush to judgment.”
