Two men accused of assisting in a plot to behead the woman behind a “Draw Muhammad” event in Texas earlier this year pleaded not guilty in a Boston court on Friday.
According to multiple reports, 25-year-old David Wright and 24-year-old Nicholas Rovinski appeared in court over federal charges relating to another Boston man’s plan to kill Pamela Geller — the head of the American Freedom Defense Initiative — and attack Boston police officers.
{mosads}The third man, Usaamah Rahim, was shot dead by police officers and FBI agents earlier this month, after he approached them wielding a knife.
According to federal charges, Rahim bought multiple knives and discussed with Wright and Rovinski a plot to behead Geller, whose group had organized the May “Draw Muhammad” event in Garland, Texas. Two gunmen attempted to attack the event but were killed by a security guard at the time.
The Justice Department has charged Wright and Rovinski with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), since the extremist group had put out a call for supporters to “slaughter” Geller after the Texas event.
The men had also posted on social media sites in support of ISIS for months, the government claimed.
After discussions about trying to kill Geller, Rahim abandoned that plot and told Wright that he wanted to attack “those boys in blue,” an apparent reference to Massachusetts police officers. When officers approached Rahim hours later to question him, he pulled out a knife and was shot dead.
Wright and Rovinski face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.